


(what a feeling) to be a king beside you.

by empireoffclouds



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: (that tag will make sense after you read it), Also a little bit of smut but just a tiny bit, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Jos Verstappen's A+ Parenting, Lando is the Duke of Northampton, M/M, Max is the Prince of Belgium, Modern Royalty, also did i think of this while listening to a 1D song? perhaps, also i know Max is Dutch but for all intents and purposes of this story he's Belgian, also there's Sewis if you squint, and everyone else is still an F1 driver, and there's a surprise appearance from one of our favorite engineers but I won't spoil it, but not enough to warrant a tag, maybe and yet will be our always, not beta read we die like (wo)men, oh and also I think I need to include this tag:, oh and this is certainly not proof-read so you'll have to excuse any spelling mistakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:08:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26333863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/empireoffclouds/pseuds/empireoffclouds
Summary: Prince Max Emilian Verstappen: young, handsome, heir to the throne of Belgium, and profoundly disenchanted by that fact. If Max had it his way, he never would have been born into royalty, but he was used to never having things turn out the way he wanted them to - and he forced himself to accept that that was the way things would always be.Or at least he had, until a chance meeting with a certain Formula 1 driver manages to turn his entire world upside down.Alternatively: Max is the crown prince of Belgium, Daniel is still Daniel, and the two still somehow manage to meet and fall in love against all odds.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, George Russell/Alex Albon/Lando Norris, charles leclerc/pierre gasly
Comments: 41
Kudos: 218





	(what a feeling) to be a king beside you.

**Author's Note:**

> Guys I'm back, and I have to admit that for a second there I never thought I would finish writing this fic. Writing this was certainly more of a marathon than a race, but I finally finished it after spending nearly three weeks working on it and I am genuinely so proud of myself for having managed to do it.
> 
> Royalty AU's are my favorite thing in the world, so I sincerely hope you guys enjoy this. 
> 
> So, without further ado, have fun reading the nearly 30 thousand words I somehow wrote about these two idiots in love.

“Lando, are you sure no one will recognize me?”

“Max I’ve told you a hundred times already, you’re really not as memorable as you think you are”

“Oh you’re hilarious”

“Thank you, your royal highness, I try”

Max glared at his friend, but Lando only gave him a cheeky wink in return. He knew perfectly well how much Max hated being addressed by his royal title. Which was a shame really, seeing as how he would one day be the King of Belgium and all that.

“No but seriously Max, there’s a reason why I declined Eugenie’s invitation. If we’d come with her then we’d definitely be recognized – but by ourselves we’re really not that noticeable”

Max still looked unconvinced, but he had to admit his friend had a point.

“I know, but you’re still the Duke of Northampton”

Lando rolled his eyes “Yeah but I’m not nearly as well-known as my dear cousins, those attention seeking hoes”

Max snorted, Lando’s way of dealing with absolutely everything through humor never failing to put him at ease, and he wondered not for the first time what exactly he had done to deserve a friend like Lando in a world were authentic friendships were about as rare as a four-leaved clover.

He had become aware of that fact at an entirely too young age, when he realized what it meant exactly to be Max Emilian Verstappen the Third, crown prince of Belgium.

Max knew perfectly well that thousands of people would kill to have been born into royalty, but that life was never one that he particularly enjoyed. For him, being a prince had always seemed to have more contras than pros.

Ever since he was very young, he had been training to one day become the successor to the throne, and King Jos Verstappen the Third made sure that that training was as rigorous as it could get. While most children his age were playing outside and running around, Max was confined to the library of the royal palace, where a handful of tutors taught him about everything ranging from the French language to various strategies of war.

Because of that he had never really known what it felt like to just be a kid, and the only other children he was ever around were the sons and daughters of other royals – whom he’d never in his life consider to be his real friends.

Through all his life he had only ever had one true friend, and that was his sister Victoria. The princess was probably the only reason why Max hadn’t gone completely mad yet, if he was being perfectly honest.

Since she wasn’t the next in line to the throne, she had enjoyed a much more relaxed childhood than Max did, which wasn’t something he’d ever resent her for or anything. He was more than glad to take all of his father’s shit if that meant Victoria wouldn’t have to.

But that was why when he met Lando, he’d considered it nothing short of a miracle. They had previously attended many of the same functions, but the first time they actually spoke to each other was during an official visit from the Verstappens to the British Royal Family, where King Jos and Queen Elizabeth were going to go over some diplomatic stuff which Max couldn’t be bothered to remember.

By a stroke of luck someone had decided to sit Max next to the Duke of Northampton himself, and when Lando cracked a joke under his breath about Prince William’s balding head the Belgian couldn’t help but snort in a very un-princely manner. Lando was delighted by his reaction, and the two quickly became friends after that.

The best part about their friendship was that Jos actually allowed Max to visit Lando, since he had royal blood and was therefore considered an “appropriate acquaintance”. If only the King knew that Lando hated royalty almost as much as Max did and spent most of his free time talking shit about his extended family.

Thanks to Lando, Max could actually feel like the twenty-year-old he was. Lando taught Max about videogames, and memes, and even internet culture. Whenever they spent time together, he could forget that he was the prince of Belgium and next in line to the throne, and he could just be the stupid young adult he longed to be.

He felt so comfortable with the Briton that he had agreed to sneak out of Northampton Palace to attend some race of a sport he didn’t know anything about, even though the mere thought of his father finding out was enough to make his anxiety levels reach an all-time high.

Lando didn’t know the first thing about Formula 1 either, but the race (or Grand Prix, as they had learned after a quick google search) just happened to coincide with Max’s visit and Silverstone Circuit was barely twenty minutes away from Northampton Palace – so it was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up on.

The two royals had somehow managed to sneak out of the castle undetected, and Lando had successfully convinced one of their drivers to get them to the circuit without informing anyone else. They both knew that going without any security probably wasn’t the brightest idea, but their combined recklessness was enough to make them decide to risk it.

And thus here they were, walking through the paddock in what they thought to be inconspicuous clothing and trying to find the seats they were supposed to watch the race from.

As they walked Max pulled down on the black Mercedes cap Lando had forced him to wear, trying to cover up as much of his face as he possibly could. Lando rolled his eyes at the action, adjusting his own bright blue Williams cap that contrasted painfully with the orange hoodie he was wearing.

“Do you even know where we’re going?” Max asked after he realized they had been practically walking in circles for the past fifteen minutes. He was sure they had passed the Ferrari hospitality at least twice now.

“Not really…?” Lando admitted sheepishly “When Eugenie asked which tickets we wanted I just told her to buy the best she could get, and I thought finding our seats would be pretty easy but I guess not”

Max froze at that, turning to look at his friend incredulously “You asked Eugenie for the tickets? Princess Eugenie, the same person who thinks closing up the Louvre for her birthday party is something low-key?”

“Yeah, it was probably not my brightest moment”

The prince groaned, perfectly aware that if Eugenie had gotten them the tickets then they were probably the most expensive and exclusive passes ever. So much for keeping a low profile.

“Alright let’s not freak out, we could just ask someone to tell us where we’re supposed to go and it’ll be fine”

Max wasn’t too sure about that, but before he could voice his concerns Lando was already speed-walking towards two men in matching navy-blue polos that were leaning against a truck and talking casually, and he had no choice but to follow after him.

“Hello!” Lando chirped, either not noticing or choosing to ignore the apprehension in both men’s eyes as they turned towards him.

“Um, hey” the younger looking one of the two answered, a small frown forming on his forehead as he looked at Lando suspiciously.

“Can we help you?” asked the other man, seemingly more easygoing than his friend but still slightly guarded.

Max reached Lando before he could answer the question, and just as he was about to complain about him leaving him behind, he locked eyes with the older man, and the words instantly died in his throat.

 _Holy shit_ , the prince thought, very sure that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the man standing in front of him the most beautiful person he’d ever seen in his life. And he had met Harry Styles, so that was saying a lot.

The first thing he noticed about him was his hair, a curly mess that was a deep shade of black and looked so fluffy that Max’s fingers actually twitched with the urge to run them through it.

Then he focused on his eyes, and he really couldn’t understand how some people thought brown eyes were boring because his seemed to sparkle under the few rays of sun shining over them. After that he noticed his nose, big and crooked and yet seeming to fit perfectly with the rest of his face.

His lips were full and pink and looked so utterly kissable that it was almost ridiculous, and Max couldn’t even think of words to describe his body, strong and lean and just _perfect_.

And apparently Max hadn’t been at all discreet with his staring because the man had the nerve to smile at him, amusement dancing in his eyes, and if he’d thought he looked beautiful before it was nothing compared to how he looked with that smile lighting up his entire face.

“Hi” Max croaked, painfully aware of the blush spreading up his neck that he was sure was entirely too obvious because of his pale skin.

“Hello there” the man greeted, and of _course_ he had to have an Australian accent.

“As I was saying,” Lando piped in “we just wanted to ask if you could possibly help us find where we’re supposed to go, we don’t really know anything about Formula 1 you see, so we’re a bit lost”

The two men shared a surprised look at that, and Lando must have said the right thing because all their apprehension seemed to melt away in a second.

“Well of course” the older man answered, earning himself a massive grin from Lando as he handed him their passes. After he scanned the two metallic squares, he raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t know anything about Formula 1 and yet you got two passes usually reserved for friends and family of the drivers?”

Now it was Max and Lando’s turn to share a panicked look. Fucking Eugenie.

“Um… we have very generous friends” Max finally answered, his blush getting even redder when the man let out a snort.

“I can see that,” he handed the passes back to Max, and when their fingers brushed the Belgian could feel a shiver run down his spine “I’m Daniel by the way, Daniel Ricciardo, and this is Alex”

 _Daniel_. Max suddenly really wanted to know how his name would feel rolling off his tongue.

“I’m Lando, lovely to meet you lads”

The prince cleared his throat, feeling very weird at having to introduce himself by his first name, since he couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that “I’m Max, nice to meet you”

“So, these passes actually let you get into virtually anywhere, so if you want to Alex and I would love to have you at the Red Bull hospitality”

“We would?” Alex questioned, yelping as Daniel shoved an elbow to his side “I mean of course we would!”

“Oh we’d love that!” Lando answered for both of them, and Max wasn’t annoyed by his friend’s tendency to do that for once because the thought of spending more time with Daniel was making his stomach do all kinds of flip flops.

“Perfect” Daniel clasped his hands together “right this way gentlemen”

Max fell into step next to Daniel as Alex and Lando trailed after them, the latter already talking Alex’s ear off much to his bewilderment.

“So, you work for Red Bull?”

Dan smiled at his tentative question, thankfully finding it endearing that Max had somehow forgotten how to talk to another human being.

“Yep, which reminds me we’re gonna have to do something about those caps of yours if we don’t want everyone to think we’re fraternizing with the enemy” he teased, and God, Max really had to stop blushing every time the Australian so much as looked at him.

The Red Bull motorhome turned out to be only a few feet away from where they had been standing, but even though they walked a very small distance it seemed like at least fifty people had greeted both Alex and Daniel as they passed them by.

Max didn’t question it, since he just guessed the two were very popular amongst the other workers.

Daniel decided to give them an extensive tour of the motorhome, arguing that if they wanted to get into the sport then they should get some first-hand experience about how everything worked. And Max didn’t necessarily want to get into the sport, but he was definitely into Dan, so he’d bear it.

“F1 is a very complex sport, but since it’s your first race all you need to know is that the cars go zoom and whoever’s fastest wins”

“I think we could’ve figured that one out ourselves” Max laughed, and if he didn’t know better he’d think Daniel’s smile got wider at the sound.

“Yeah but it’s always best when an expert explains it”

He winked at the prince, and that simple motion was enough to make the butterflies in Max’s stomach start an actual revolt.

“Alrighty so this is where the magic happens, and by magic, I mean a ton of engineering stuff I wouldn’t want to bore you with” the Australian rambled, pointing at various monitors and machines that Max would actually love to examine.

Max thought that the Australian could talk to him about paint drying and he wouldn’t be bored, but he couldn’t precisely say that to the man he had met just a half hour before.

Besides, his extensive education had also included quite a lot of math and physics, and he’d always genuinely enjoyed those subjects since their preciseness was a welcome distraction from the subjectivity that came with foreign policy and international relations.

Lando snorted, seeming to know what Max was thinking “Max is the biggest nerd, he’d love it if you talked engineering to him”

“Is that so?” Dan teased when he saw Max glare at his friend “I’m sorry to disappoint but I don’t know much about that part of the sport”

“Oh yeah we never asked what you lads’ jobs are”

“Yeah Dan, why haven’t you told them what our jobs are?” Alex backed Lando up, and Max frowned as he saw the deer-caught-in-headlights look on his face.

“Well –“

“Oh there you are”

A man suddenly interrupted, and Dan looked relieved at not having to answer Alex’s question.

“Michael, how nice to see you!”

Michael rolled his eyes at Daniel’s greeting “Don’t suck up to me Ricciardo, you were supposed to come find me to warm up thirty minutes ago”

Daniel smiled guiltily, and now Max really was confused. Why would he need to warm up?

“Sorry about that mate, I kinda got distracted”

Michael only just seemed to notice Lando and Max after that, the former giving him a little wave while the latter smiled awkwardly. However, the newcomer just sighed and turned to shoot an accusing look at his fellow Australian.

“A pretty blonde with blue eyes? Yeah, I can see why you got distracted, God you’re so predictable mate”

Daniel and Max spluttered indignantly while Lando and Alex cackled, and even though he was, indeed, mortified, Max felt a little better when he saw that the other man was blushing just as hard as he probably was.

Michael seemed very pleased with himself after embarrassing Dan, a little smirk adorning his face as he stepped forward to properly introduce himself to the two royals.

“I’m Michael Italiano by the way, this idiot’s personal trainer”

The new piece of information was enough to shake Max out of his embarrassment, suddenly remembering his confusion at Dan’s apparent need to warm up.

“Why do you need a personal trainer?” Lando asked, making Michael’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise at the question.

“Do they not know you two are Red Bull’s drivers?”

“What?” Max and Lando chorused, looking at Daniel and Alex in disbelief. That did explain quite a lot of things though, like why no one batted an eyelid at them bringing to strangers into the motorhome or how they could get into wherever they pleased.

Daniel rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably “Yeah… I swear I was about to get to that, sorry for not telling you sooner”

Lando scoffed “Are you kidding? That’s so cool!”

The Australian looked less nervous at Lando’s very positive reaction, but he still turned to Max hesitantly. The prince gave him a reassuring smile, trying to convey that he didn’t mind it at all that they hadn’t told them the truth. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, and if either Max or Lando got angry at that then they would be the two biggest hypocrites in the world.

“It _is_ really cool” Max agreed, glad to see how Dan’s happy look came back at his words “but you must think we’re oblivious idiots for not knowing”

Alex waved off his concerns “Nah it’s whatever, we’re just not used to meeting people in the paddock who don’t know who we are”

“We didn’t even know teams had two drivers” Lando admitted, making all the men laugh.

“What are you guys even doing here if you don’t like F1?” Michael questioned, not in a mean way or anything, but out of genuine curiosity.

Max shrugged “I’m visiting Lando for a few days and his house is very close to the circuit, so when his cousin offered us the tickets we couldn’t see why not”

“That’s a very generous cousin you have”

The two friends nodded embarrassedly, and now Max really was curious to know exactly how much Eugenie had paid for those passes. But he also remembered how she had thought a box of cereal was 20 pounds apiece, so perhaps he was better off not knowing.

“Well, I’m very sorry to have to steal these two away from you, but they really need to get ready for the race now” Michael said, ignoring the pout Daniel sent him.

“It’s okay,” Max reassured “we wouldn’t want to be the reason why Red Bull doesn’t have their drivers in the best shape”

“Yeah, but when you win you better dedicate your race to us” Lando joked, and when a faint flush spread up Alex’s neck Max quirked an eyebrow. He would definitely be filing away that information for later.

“Oh we definitely will” Daniel winked at Max, and It took all of his willpower not to giggle like a schoolgirl.

“Alright lover boy let’s go,” Michael interrupted “you can keep flirting later”

Alex quickly explained to them how to get to Red Bull’s hospitality before saying goodbye and following Michael out of the motorhome, but Daniel hung behind.

“We will see you after the race, right? We can go out for drinks or something” Dan asked, and Max was nodding in agreement before he even finished talking.

“Of course, I’ll – _we’ll_ be waiting right here for you” Max cursed inwardly at himself for his slip up, but Daniel only smirked at him in a way that had the Belgian’s brain short-circuiting more then it already was.

“Perfect, I do have to leave now before Michael decides to murder me, but I’ll see you in a few”

“We’ll be cheering for you” the prince blurted out before he could lose his nerve, a pleased feeling running through him as the smirk on Dan’s face grew larger.

“I could get used to that”

With those parting words Daniel finally followed after Alex and Michael, leaving Max to stare after him like a lovestruck teenager. As he finally snapped out of it he turned towards, Lando, his forehead creasing into a frown as he saw the shit-eating grin on his friend’s face.

“What?”

“ _We’ll be cheering for you_ ” Lando mocked him, making Max roll his eyes as the Duke laughed at him “I think someone’s got a little crush”

“Oh stuff it, don’t think I didn’t notice the way you were looking at Alex”

Now it was Lando’s turn to splutter, and Max saw it as his cue to leave him standing there and head towards the Hospitality building. For someone who couldn’t have cared less about Formula 1 less than three hours ago, he was suddenly very invested in the upcoming race.

And if it was because of a certain curly haired driver instead of the very fast cars, well, no one needed to know.

* * *

The race turned out to be so much more entertaining than Max could’ve ever imagined, and by the end of it him and Lando had very nearly started to cling to each other to calm their nerves.

It had been extremely close for the entire 52 laps, with the Mercedes drivers battling it out up front and Daniel trying desperately to get closer to them without letting Charles Leclerc and his Ferrari pass him.

Alex also had a pretty hard time in the middle, switching between P5 and P6 with one of the Alpha Tauri drivers, Pierre Gasly.

Before today Max had never understood what was so exciting about watching a bunch of cars drive around in circles, but now he got it. He’d never thought that a race could be quite so intense, and he was sure it couldn’t be healthy how fast his heart was beating all throughout it.

When one of the Haas cars crashed into one of the McLarens, the two royals actually let out an audible gasp, not expecting to see how damaged the cars looked after the impact. A whole entire tyre went flying out of the car, and Max could swear Lando was close to tears until the two drivers thankfully got out of the car without any injuries.

 _God_ , he’d never even thought of how dangerous the sport could be. Sure, he’d heard about some of the nastier crashes that cost the lives of drivers in the past, but Max didn’t know that crashing was still so common.

The race mercifully ended without any more incidents, and Max was grinning from ear to ear as he heard Daniel’s cheers coming from one of the televisions when he managed to squeeze between the Mercedes on the final lap to finish in an incredible P2.

Lando and Max had agreed that it wouldn’t be a good idea for them to attend the podium ceremony, since the massive crowds posed too much of a risk to ignore, even for them. So, they only joined in the celebrations with the other people in the room, the two pleasantly surprised when no one bat an eyelid at their presence there.

Max had only experienced a couple of hours where he could seamlessly blend into the crowd, and he was already addicted to it, to the feeling of not being under constant surveillance, and of not having to second guess every little thing he did.

The prince laughed as he saw Valtteri and Lewis spraying Dan with their champagne bottles, the Australian seeming to relish in it, probably still high on adrenaline. And then Dan was taking off his shoe to pour champagne inside of it, taking a large gulp as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Although he’d only known the man for a few hours, Max wasn’t at all weirded out by his bizarre celebration. It just seemed like something he’d do.

When the ceremony ended and people started to trail out of the room, Lando nudged Max’s foot with his own, a cheeky smirk on his face.

“Come on Max, let’s go see your man”

The two headed back to the motorhome, and they happened to get there at the same time as Daniel and Alex were coming back in, both still wearing their sweaty fireproofs and Daniel dripping wet from the champagne the Mercedes drivers had mercilessly sprayed him with.

“Ah, there’s my good luck charm” Daniel said when his eyes landed on Max, the Belgian feeling his throat close up as he ran a hand through his hair and looked at him through lowered lashes.

Max suddenly really wanted to know if he’d be able to taste the champagne on his skin.

“I resent that” Lando placed a hand over his heart in mock offense, effectively snapping Max’s mind out of the gutter.

“Don’t worry mate, I’m sure Alex will claim you as his” Dan teased, cackling as both Alex and Lando got as red as tomatoes.

Max smiled shyly “You were both great out there”

“Why thank you Maxy” Dan mirrored his smile, and Max had no idea how he’d known that that was what Lando and Victoria called him whenever they wanted to make fun of him, but it sounded so right when it was him who said it.

“So, we’ll go shower real quick and then we can finally head out, still up for drinks?”

Max nodded eagerly “Definitely”

“Great! Make yourselves comfortable wherever you’d like and we’ll be back before you know it”

Lando and Max were left alone once again, and they left the building to wait for the Red Bull drivers on one of the comfortable benches outside.

Without Daniel there to distract him Max felt nerves creeping up him once more “Lando, do you think it’s a good idea to go out with them? I mean, will your driver still be able to pick us up? Won’t they notice we’re gone?”

The Duke sighed “I promise everything’s gonna be fine Max, don’t let your head convince you otherwise. Besides, I’ve never seen you act as relaxed around anyone as you’ve been doing with Daniel, and I’ll be damned if you don’t get to spend as much time with him as you can”

Max blinked slowly at his friend’s words. Sure, he had been behaving a bit less introverted than usual, but it wasn’t that big of a change, was it?

It was ridiculous to think that a virtual stranger could bring out those parts of Max that were normally kept hidden.

And yet.

And yet, the more he thought about it he realized it was true. Usually, he would never joke around with someone he didn’t know, he wouldn’t openly laugh unless he was around people he trusted, he wouldn’t let his guard down like that, and he certainly wouldn’t flirt with just anyone. 

He had been hurt one too many times for him to just open himself up like that, which was why it was so incredibly hard for him to make new acquaintances, let alone friends.

But he _had_ done all those things around Daniel, and the thought was equal parts exciting and terrifying.

He didn’t know how long he’d been lost inside his head, but before he knew it Daniel and Alex were walking towards him looking freshened up and wearing normal clothes.

“Alrighty, since we guessed you didn’t drive here, we thought Lando could ride with Alex and you could ride with me Max”

“Perfect” Lando answered before his friend could, standing up from the bench and hooking his arm around Alex to lead him towards the parking lot, the other man looking very pleased at his actions “we’ll see you there lads”

Max was left alone with Daniel for the first time, and he could feel his anxiety making a hell of a comeback. However, just one glance at Daniel’s warm eyes was enough to put a lid on it before it could even reach the surface.

“Let’s go then” Dan said, and the two of them made their way over to another one of the private parking lots, where the Australian made a beeline to a bright yellow Porsche.

The prince raised an eyebrow “You’re really not one for discreetness, huh?”

Dan laughed, opening Max’s door for him before getting into the driver’s seat himself.

“Whoever said chivalry was dead”

“They definitely hadn’t met me babe” he winked, before revving up the engine and reversing out of the parking space.

There it was again. Max had never met anyone with whom he could be so carefree before, and he absolutely loved it.

Max supposed it was normal for a Formula 1 driver to drive quite above the speed limit even when they were driving regular cars, but for some reason he didn’t feel even a tiny bit scared by that, instead choosing to rest his head against the seat and relax.

Daniel was visibly surprised by his reaction, and he raised an impressed eyebrow “Normally people look a lot more stressed when they get into a car with me”

Max shrugged “I don’t see why, I trust you”

The Australian’s lips twitched into a pleased grin, and even as they fell into a comfortable silence Max could feel him looking over every couple of minutes.

Dan parked right next to Alex, and Max almost laughed at how strange their fancy cars looked next to the tiny pub Lando had led them to. Apparently he knew the owners and the place was always virtually empty, so they wouldn’t be bothered.

Lando and Alex were already waiting for them inside, along with four more guys Max hadn’t met before.

Daniel noticed the blonde’s apprehension, and he lightly placed his hand on the small of his back. Max actually shivered at the feeling of his hot palm pressing against his skin, even if it was through the fabric.

Max couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched him like that, and it was enough to make him put any anxious thoughts out of his mind.

“Hey mates, this is Max” Daniel introduced him as they approached the table, Max giving a small awkward wave “And Maxy these are Sebastian, George, Pierre and Charles”

The four men chorused their hellos, Sebastian less loudly than the younger drivers, while Lando just wiggled his eyebrows and mouthed _Maxy?_

“Thank God you’re here, Lewis couldn’t come and now I’m stuck on babysitting duty” Sebastian lamented, making all the others argue indignantly that they didn’t need a babysitter.

Daniel sat down next to Sebastian amid the commotion, patting the seat next to him for Max to take.

“So Max, Lando was telling us you’re from Belgium” the German commented to break through the ruckus of voices, and it seemed to work since they all shut up and turned expectant eyes on Max.

If he wasn’t so used to being stared at, he would’ve probably shrunk in his seat.

“Um, yes. I’m just visiting Lando for a few days before I go back to Brussels”

Charles cocked his head to the side, staring intently at the Belgian “You look so familiar to me, but I can’t place where I’ve seen you before”

Max paled.

“Oh no Max is a total hermit, I’m sure you’re thinking of someone else” Lando quickly intervened, earning himself a grateful look from the prince.

The truth was that Max _had_ met Charles before, at some dinner organized by the Monegasque Royal Family. It had been years ago though, and Max was really grateful that he’d barely interacted with him that night.

“Yeah exactly” Max was quick to agree, relief flooding him as Charles just shrugged and left it at that.

“And what do you do for a living?” Sebastian asked again, making Max raise an eyebrow as he felt as though he was being interrogated by an overprotective father.

“I’m a – um – a political consultant, of sorts”

That really was as close to the truth as he could get, and he had to stifle a laugh as Lando snorted into his soda. Sebastian seemed satisfied with his answer, finally turning his eyer away from him to talk with Charles about something or other.

“So you’re pretty and smart, you just keep surprising me Max” Daniel murmured as he leaned closer to the Belgian, the latter feeling a shiver run down his spine at the sound of his voice so close to him.

The rest of the night passed by without any more close calls, and Max was glad to find that it was very easy to get along with Daniel’s friends. They were all incredibly nice and incredibly extroverted, and it also helped that Daniel seemed to be constantly making sure that both Max and Lando were included in the conversation at all times.

Not that Lando would’ve had any problem on his own, since neither George nor Alex seemed to be able to take their eyes off of the Duke.

Not that Max was any better.

Even when he was talking to one of the other men, he was always aware of Daniel’s presence by his side. It was as though something in the Australian attracted him like a magnet, and every time he turned to look at him only to find him looking back, Max felt a thrill rush through him.

Before they knew it, they had been sitting at the bar for nearly three hours, and Lando grimaced when his phone rang and he saw the name that flashed across the screen.

“Sorry lads, but I think Max and I are gonna have to take our leave”

They all protested at Lando’s words, and Daniel actually pouted at Max – something that made his lips look even more alluring than they already did.

“Do you have to?”

Max wished with all his might that he didn’t “Unfortunately yes, our curfew is very strict”

“If you must” Daniel sighed overdramatically “but I can’t let you go without getting your number first”

Charles wolf whistled at them, making everyone laugh, well, everyone but Seb who only rolled his eyes and murmured something about immature idiots. Max only bit his lip and nodded, taking Daniel’s phone from his hands and feeling a spark when their fingers touched at the motion.

“I was hoping you’d say that”

He decided to save his contact name as “Max Kumpen” – his mother’s maiden name – since there was a smaller chance of Dan finding him if he decided to google his name for some reason.

Daniel grinned at his screen when Max passed the phone back to him, and this time he knew the way he brushed his thumb over’s the Belgian’s hand was intentional.

“Excellent, I’ll definitely be using that”

The Aussie walked them to the exit after Lando had finished exchanging numbers with George and Alex, jokingly proclaiming that it was his duty to make sure they got into their “uber” safely.

Lando quickly got into the car to give Max and Daniel a sense of privacy, and the prince felt nervous butterflies fluttering in his stomach as he stared at the older man underneath the moonlight.

“It was great meeting you Maxy,” Daniel said, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets as if he didn’t know what to do with them “and I really meant it when I said I will be making good use of your number”

“It was great meeting you too Dan, and I really hope you do”

Dan hesitated for a moment before leaning forward to press a kiss against Max’s cheek, and he instantly felt his skin tingle on the spot his lips had touched it.

“Bye” the Belgian nearly whispered, his pulse speeding up when he saw the way Daniel’s eyes flicked to his lips before bringing them back up.

“Bye”

Max finally forced himself to get into the car then, but he still looked at Daniel through the window until they turned a corner and the Australian fell out of view.

The prince sighed, turning in his seat to face forwards and letting his head fall back against the leather, a stupid smile curling the corners of his mouth.

“So…” Lando started, and Max had genuinely forgotten the Duke was even there “I think someone’s got a little crush”

Max rolled his eyes at the ridiculous way Lando waggled his eyebrows, but not even his friend’s antics could wipe the blissful look on his face.

“Oh shut up, like you weren’t practically drooling over Alex and George for the entire night”

Lando spluttered indignantly at that, and Max was very pleased with himself at having been able to render him speechless.

The Duke was right though, since Max knew he wouldn’t be able to get Daniel’s brown eyes out of his head anytime soon.

* * *

At the risk of sounding like a smitten fourteen-year-old, Max genuinely felt like he hadn’t stopped smiling ever since he met Daniel almost two weeks ago.

He had never been one to believe in love at first sight. Hate at first sight? Sure. But love?

Max guessed it had something to do with how he’d always perceived love.

His parents’ marriage hadn’t exactly been the best example of what a loving union should be, since his mother’s parents had arranged for her to marry Jos solely because of his status as the future King of Belgium.

And it wasn’t like his father’s parents had been any better, since the Queen Mother (Max’s grandmother) had only accepted the arrangement because Sophie came from royalty herself and also happened to be exceptionally pretty.

Arranged marriages were still the norm in most royal families, no matter how much they tried to convince the public otherwise.

So, Max had grown up surrounded by couples who tolerated each other at best, and who could barely be in the same room for more than five seconds without wanting to kill each other at worst.

Because of this, the prince had never believed in the love people talked about in books.

That kind of love always seemed so surreal to him, like something that could only truly exist in the minds of the great poets and writers.

And yet.

And yet, whenever he talked to Daniel he felt something in his stomach that made him think... _maybe_.

After that night in Silverstone, Daniel and Max had texted virtually every single day.

Even when Dan was busy with training or going over data with his team, he still found the time to at least send Max a dumb selfie of his double chin that was enough to keep him in a good mood for the entire day.

It was a little harder for Max to make time for Daniel, not for lack of trying of course, but his royal duties made it so that he couldn’t be on his phone for hours on end, not even to check his notifications.

If some reporter managed to snap a picture of him looking at his phone during some official event, his father and the press would have his throat.

Besides, Max would never risk his father getting even a glance at his phone. It was just about the only thing he owned where he could have a semblance of a private life, and if for some reason Jos managed to see the messages he shared with Lando, Daniel, or even Vic... he didn’t even want to think about the consequences.

So, Daniel only thought that Max’s job as a “political consultant” was extremely demanding, and thankfully left it at that.

When texting became too much of a hassle because of how much they wanted to say to each other, they switched over to FaceTime - even though Max always had to make sure that he was either on his bedroom or out in the garden so that his background wouldn’t give away that he lived in a whole ass castle.

It definitely wasn’t easy to hide his identity from Daniel, specially since Max felt absolutely terrible whenever he had to lie to the Australian to keep his secret.

But even though Max did have to tell many little white lies, he soon found out that it was incredibly easy to open up to Dan.

They talked about everything and anything, ranging from Daniel’s very extravagant taste in music to Max’s love of baking shows.

Dan had teased him mercilessly for that, since Max had also admitted to him that he loved classical music and thus the Aussie decided he had the same tastes as a grandma.

(Max didn’t really help his case when he told him his favorite food was oatmeal).

He’d also started actually getting into Formula 1 thanks to Daniel, since the older man always made him promise to watch him race because he was convinced the Dutchman was his good luck charm – since he’d gotten a podium at every race since they’d met.

Max obviously thought he was being ridiculous, but he did feel very pleased with himself every time he brought it up.

The prince had even taken to watching YouTube videos titled “F1 for dummies”, so that he could actually understand what the hell was going on whenever he could watch a Grand Prix.

He’d even bought a subscription to the F1TV channel, so that he could watch them from the comfort of his own where he could safely make heart eyes at Daniel whenever the camera focused on him.

Max always loved it when Dan called him after a race, when his eyes were droopy with exhaustion, but his smile was wider than usual.

For someone who had always had such a hard time exteriorizing his feelings, it felt almost natural to talk to Daniel about things he’d never confided to anyone else. Not Lando, and not even Victoria.

Somehow, those kind brown eyes that looked at him through the screen of his phone made it so that Max felt the urge to pour his heart out to the older man, especially when they talked at night and well into the early hours of the morning.

It was during one of those late night/early morning conversations that Max confided in Daniel about the complicated relationship he has with his father, and the pressure he felt crushing his shoulders whenever he thought about the future.

“I just feel like my whole life is planned out for me, you know?” the prince sighed, letting himself sink further into his bed while making sure his face was still visible on the phone’s screen “Like I’ll never get to be who I actually am”

“Well why don’t you branch out then? I get that your dad wants you to work in politics like him but I’m sure he’d understand if you chose another path”

Max snorted, the mere thought of him going against his father’s wishes being too ludicrous to even entertain it.

“You don’t know my father Dan, he’d never allow me to do anything he doesn’t approve of”

Dan frowned, and Max could see him sit up straighter “Well he can’t exactly force you to do anything can he? You’re legally an adult”

The prince sighed, it was moments like this which made it extremely difficult for him to keep up the facade that he was just a normal person.

“It’s not that simple. My father has never taken it lightly whenever I go against his wishes... it never ends well”

The frown on the Australian’s face got deeper, and Max could see the worry in his eyes even through the screen.

He had never told anyone outright about Jos’s preferred methods of making sure he never repeated the same mistake twice.

It wasn’t a topic that you’d just spring up on people, and he’d always found reasons not to tell even those he trusted most.

His mother had always been out of the question, since Max didn’t want to add on to her already considerable amount of problems.

And even though Victoria was barely a year younger than him, Max still felt the need to protect her innocence and to make her believe that he was alright.

Of course his sister knew how verbally abusive Jos could be with his son, but Max went to extraordinary measures to ensure she never witnessed how physical he could sometimes get.

He also knew that if Lando ever found out, the Duke would more than likely storm into the palace and demand to duel Jos or some other very dramatic measure like that, and he didn’t want to worry his friend anyways.

Most of the staff knew of course, and Max hated to see the pity in their eyes whenever they saw or heard the King berating his eldest son. He would never resent them for not intervening, since realistically there was nothing they could do to go against an actual monarch.

So, it had always been Max’s burden to bear. But again... there was something about Daniel that made him want to open himself up to him, that made him feel safe enough to fully confide in someone else for the first time in his life.

“I don’t know if it’s my place,” Dan started tentatively “but Max... has your father ever mistreated you?”

Max hesitated for a second, debating how honestly he should answer.

“Not in a way that I couldn’t handle”

The words he finally settled on using clearly weren’t what Daniel wanted to hear, if the anger that flashed across his face was anything to go by.

“You shouldn’t _have_ to handle anything” he bristled “Max, you really don’t have to put up with someone treating you wrong. And - and I know we’ve only known each other for a few months but if you ever feel like you need to get away you can always count on me, okay?”

Even with the fucked up nature of their conversation, Max couldn’t help but feel all kinds of warm inside at the knowledge that Daniel actually cared enough about him to offer something as big as that.

The prince smiled, averting his eyes from the screen for a few seconds so he wouldn’t do something stupid like start crying “Thanks Dan, really”

“I mean it Maxy,” Daniel answered, mirroring his soft smile “I’m here for whatever you need”

 _Fuck_ , Max thought as him and Daniel just sat there, smiling stupidly at each other through a tiny phone screen.

He was truly, royally fucked (pun slightly intended).

The next morning Max felt like he was on cloud nine as he joined Victoria for breakfast at one of the palace’s gardens.

Even the morning sun seemed to reflect his mood, shining brightly in the sky and making everything look nicer under its light.

“Good morning love” he greeted, pressing a kiss on top of his sister’s head before falling onto the chair next to her and happily stuffing a mini croissant in his mouth.

Victoria quirked an eyebrow, obviously glad to see her brother in such high spirits but confused nonetheless.

“Someone’s in a good mood” she commented, lips twitching upwards as Max just hummed contently.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, Victoria reading some book while Max seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

“Vic... do you think you can fall in love with someone you’ve only met once?”

The princess nearly choked on her tea at her brother’s words, and she quickly shut her book before sitting up straighter.

“Yeah okay, if you think you can just ask me that without telling me the whole story, you’re stupider than I thought. Spill”

And so Max did.

He told her everything, from how he and Lando had sneaked out of Northampton Palace to go to Silverstone to how he had been speaking to Daniel ever since.

Victoria really was an incredible listener, ooh-ing and ah-ing at all the right moments.

She even gasped when Max showed her a picture of Daniel he had saved to his phone (he swore he hadn’t looked it up, but Lando had taken it upon himself to send him every picture of the Australian he came across. Not that he was complaining).

“Max... he sounds amazing” she said once her brother had finished talking “I can’t wait to meet him”

The prince couldn’t help but grin toothily at that, so incredibly glad that his sister approved of Daniel even if she’d never even seen him.

“I would love for you two to meet, but there’s still the issue of him not knowing that I’m a prince”

Victoria waved away his concerns “Don’t even worry about that, I’m sure he’ll understand. But you should probably tell him in person, preferably sooner rather than later”

Max nodded absentmindedly, chewing on his bottom lip as he tried to think of when he would be able to see Daniel again.

The Belgium Grand Prix was only two weeks away, but he vaguely remembered his father telling him about some event they were to attend that same day, so it wouldn’t be possible.

Suddenly, Victoria perked up “Oh you could tell him when we go to Monaco for that gala! Mother told me Princess Charlene invited us again, and this time we don’t have any other event that day so we will be able to go”

The gala the princess was referring to was one that the Monegasque Royal Family held every year during the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix, and it was famously attended by most of the Formula 1 drivers competing on the race and a wide array of people that belonged to the high society.

The Verstappens were always invited of course, but for some reason they always seemed to have a previous engagement that prevented them from going.

Max had never cared about missing the event, but this year it was like God himself had put all the pieces together so that he could see Daniel again.

“That’s actually brilliant, and since it’s still a month away it gives me enough time to think about what I’ll say to him”

Victoria leaned back against her chair, looking very pleased with herself.

“You’re welcome Maxy”

The prince rolled his eyes, but although he pretended to be exasperated by his sister, he really was grateful for having her next to him.

* * *

Max groaned when the insistent knocking on his door finally managed to break through his sleeping brain, rubbing his eyes in a way that would surely make his mother scold him as he somehow managed to sit up.

“Come in” he called out, and not a second later the doors were opening to reveal his royal equerry Gianpiero, followed by some kitchen staff who only placed his breakfast tray on the small table by the window before quickly leaving the room again.

“Good morning your royal highness, I trust you slept well?”

Max scowled, aware that Gianpiero knew perfectly well that he really wasn’t a morning person. However, the man was too used to handling the grumpy prince first thing in the morning and thus didn’t look the least bit bothered by his glare.

“Good, now please do eat your breakfast quickly since you have to be ready by eleven at the latest”

Max was barely paying attention as he got out of the bed and sat down to eat, his bad mood lifting a little when he saw the chefs had prepared him his favourite: a Dutch baby with plenty of syrup and butter.

“A simple black suit will do, and make sure to comb your hair or I will send someone to do it”

Even though Max hummed in agreement, all his mind was only preoccupied with the glorious food he was shovelling into his mouth in a less than proper manner.

“You will be traveling to Stavelot by helicopter alongside his majesty, and you are expected to reach the circuit of Spa-Francochamps an hour before the race begins”

Max choked.

Gianpiero reached his side in an instant, firmly but carefully patting his back until he finally stopped coughing.

“Are you alright your royal highness?”

He could only give a weak nod in response, feeling blood rushing to his head as the words Gianpiero said resonated inside his skull.

_The Spa-Francochamps Circuit? Since when did his family attend Formula 1 races?_

“The event we are going to is the race?” Max asked when he could manage to speak again, desperately hoping that he had misheard.

“Indeed, his majesty decided it would be a good way to connect with his people”

Max was sure he was going to pass out.

After assuring Gianpiero that he would be ready on time he ushered the man out of his room, and wasted no time before dialling Lando’s number and hoping to God he’d pick up.

“Hey Maxy”

The prince had never been more glad to hear his friend’s voice.

“Lando, I’m in deep shit”

He quickly explained the situation, feeling the panic inside his chest building with each second that passed.

Lando was quiet for a few seconds after Max finished his rant, before letting out a deep sigh.

“Alright yeah, you’re in deep shit”

Max groaned, letting his head drop to the table “Please tell me what to do”

“Listen I hate to say I told you so, but I fucking told you so. You should have told Dan the truth when I told George and Alex, they took it fine, and I’m sure he would’ve too. But the only thing you can do is call him and explain, right now, even if it’s a terrible conversation to have through a phone”

The prince grimaced, knowing Lando was right but dreading having to do it.

“He’ll hate me” Max murmured softly, the panic slowly but surely morphing into dread.

Lando sighed “He won’t hate you Max. Yeah maybe he’ll be pissed for a while, but he’ll get over it”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m pretty sure he loves you, you idiot”

Max inhaled sharply at those words, those words which he’d thought about so often lately but that he’d never allowed himself to dwell on. The mere thought of Daniel actually _being in love with him_ was enough to make Max feel lightheaded, but it also seemed too good to be true, and he didn’t think he could take getting his hopes up only to have them come crashing down.

“How could he love me Lando? He barely knows me”

“Oh, come on Max,” Lando groaned, his words laced with exasperation “you have barely stopped talking to each other since you met him and that was two months ago! People have fallen in love over way less”

The Belgian shook his head even though Lando couldn’t see it, reminding himself that the chances of Daniel loving him were slim to none. However, the butterflies in his stomach (which felt more like a violent stampede of rhinos if he was being honest) didn’t seem to have gotten the memo.

“Besides, George and Alex tell me all the time that the man doesn’t shut up about you. Even his team principal knows your name by now”

Max couldn’t help but smile at that, the thought of Daniel actually talking about him to the people in his life doing a whole lot of good to diminish his anxiety.

The prince let out a shaky breath “Fine I’ll call him, but if it goes terribly wrong I might jump out of the helicopter”

Lando snorted “I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any breaking news”

“You’re hilarious”

“No but really, I’m here for you okay? Let me know how everything goes, and don’t stress about it too much”

That made the prince smile, wondering not for the first time what he had done to deserve such a good friend while living in a world where true friendships were rare to come by.

“Thanks Lando, I promise I will”

As soon as he hung up Max opened up Daniel’s contact, knowing that if he put it off for any longer, he’d never actually do it. When his finger tapped the call button, he could instantly feel his heartbeat speed up, but after ringing a few times it sent him straight to voicemail.

Max frowned, dialing the number again only for it to send him to voicemail once more. After another try, he froze, suddenly remembering a very important detail.

Daniel always turned his phone off on race days.

Panic started clawing at him again, because there was no way he could contact Daniel before he saw him at the circuit.

 _Fuck_ , he thought, running a hand across his face in frustration. And then his eyes fell on the grandfather clock that stood on the corner of his room, and the panic increased as he saw the hands marking 10:00 AM.

Max got ready in a daze, barely paying attention to what he was doing as he quickly jumped in and out of the shower and tried to find a suit that Gianpiero would approve of. He finally settled for a classic Thom Sweeney tailored black suit that he was pretty certain he’d never worn before, opting to go tieless and only slipping the white-gold bracelet Victoria had gifted him on his birthday.

Doing his hair was far from Max’s favorite thing to do, but he knew that when Gianpiero told him he’d have someone do it for him if he didn’t do it properly, it wasn’t an empty threat.

Max couldn’t help but grimace as he saw himself in the mirror when he was done. He looked like the picture of a stereotypical prince, with his “aristocratic features” always seeming to be accentuated by the expensive clothes and accessories. There wasn’t a hair on his head that was out of place, which made him look all the more _perfect_.

He hated it, and he hated the idea of Daniel seeing him like this.

Gianpiero came knocking at his door the second the clock marked 11, and by the worried the equerry shot him Max could guess that he indeed looked like a man walking to his slaughter.

His father was already waiting for him, that perpetual look of discontent plastered on his face and making him look older than he actually was. He had opted for wearing a navy-blue suit with a matching tie, the only other accessory being the golden Monarch’s ring that shone brightly on his middle finger.

Max bowed his neck when he reached his side, but his father barely acknowledged the gesture before he started walking towards the helicopter. He really didn’t understand why neither Victoria nor his mother were accompanying them, but he knew better than to ask.

“Sit up straight Max Emilian” Jos ordered, and it shouldn’t have stung Max that those were the first words he said to him, but it did. He quickly complied but couldn’t help a tiny smile when he saw the irritated look that flashed across Gianpiero’s face.

The flight to Stavelot was ridiculously short, and even though Max wasn’t fond of flying at all he wished for the first time ever that it could have taken just a little longer.

As his father exited the helicopter before him, Max felt as though his stomach was doing somersaults. His extensive years of following royal protocol were the only reason why he managed to keep a neutral expression on his face as he exited the helicopter, but he was still glad that there were no people around yet and thus he had more time to get his nerves in check.

Sadly, his nerves only increased as they were led into the paddock by an extensive security detail, and to make matter worse he now had to plaster a smile onto his face because of all the people and cameras that were now surrounding them.

They soon reached the first motorhome, which happened to be Ferrari, and a man who he could recognize as Mattia Binotto stepped forward to greet them.

“Your Majesty, your Royal Highness” the man greeted, bowing his neck towards both of them and receiving curt nods in return “I’m sure I speak in behalf of all the teams when I say it’s an honor to have you here today”

Max thanked him on autopilot, but he couldn’t focus on anything else that was being said, too busy trying to look around for Daniel as inconspicuously as he possibly could. He didn’t even care about Sebastian seeing him and recognizing him, or anyone else for that matter. His only real concern was the Australian.

The prince started walking again as Gianpiero’s hand softly pushed him forwards, and only then did he notice that his father was now going towards the Mercedes hospitality, where they would apparently stay for the entirety of the race.

Toto Wolff greeted them at the entrance of the building, following the proper protocol of course, and as he led them inside Max could finally relax a little. At least he knew that he wouldn’t find Daniel anywhere near there.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were waiting for them there, and Max felt a little guilty at having to take up some of their precious time before the race began.

Nevertheless, the two drivers greeted them just as politely as Toto had, and Max found himself smiling more genuinely as he stood in front of Lewis, having come to really respect the man as a driver and as a person ever since Daniel started teaching him more about F1.

“Mr. Hamilton, I have to say that the move you did in Bahrain to overtake Sebastian Vettel was one of the most impressive things I have ever seen”

Lewis couldn’t help the surprise from showing on his face, clearly not having expected the compliment.

“Oh wow, thank you your royal highness. I take it you follow the sport?”

Max’s lips twitched upward “Just started to, a friend of mine who loves it has been teaching me all about it”

“Is this your first time attending a race then?” Valtteri asked, looking more interested in talking with the prince now that he knew he actually cared about F1.

Max quickly looked to his left to check if his father was still talking with Toto, not wanting to risk him overhearing about his secret escapade.

“No, I actually had the opportunity to be in Silverstone a few months ago, _and I offer my late congratulations on your win Mr. Bottas_ ” the Belgian switched to Finnish as he congratulated Valtteri, feeling very pleased with himself when the usually stoic man gave him a wide smile at the use of his native language.

“ _You speak Finnish_?”

“ _I do, my father made sure I had fluency in a wide variety of languages from a very early age_ ”

If either of the drivers could catch the bitterness in his voice, they were kind enough not to comment on it.

“I had no idea other people spoke Finnish aside from, well, Finns” Lewis piped in, making both men laugh.

“I’m sure it is a very limited group of people”

“Your royal highness, it’s time to head up to the viewing box” Gianpiero interrupted, and Max actually felt a little disappointed at not being able to spend more time talking with the two Mercedes drivers. Daniel was right, they were definitely two really great people.

“Well good luck in the race gentlemen,” Max smiled while shaking both their hands “hopefully I will see you up in the podium in a few hours”

Lewis returned the smile, and Max was glad to see it was genuine “Thank you your royal highness, enjoy the race”

“ _See you in a bit_ ” Valtteri added cheekily before they left to their garages, already talking about the strategies they had planned out for the day and reminiscing about previous races at Spa.

Max followed his father up to the so-called viewing box, were thankfully there were only about fifteen more people and therefore he wouldn’t be forced to socialize as much. After greeting everyone, he decided to settle on one of the comfortable chairs right by the window, where he would undoubtedly have the best view of the race – not that it mattered much since there were at least four screens in the room that were all broadcasting it live.

Gianpiero took the seat next to him, and Max was more than glad that it was him and not some rich man or woman who just wanted to be near royalty. They sat there in comfortable silence for a while, but Max could feel his equerry’s curious eyes darting to him every once in a while.

“Your royal highness, may I ask since when did you become such an avid fan of this sport?” the Italian finally asked, and Max shook his head in amused disbelief. That man’s hearing was truly something to be feared.

“Not long ago at all”

Gianpiero didn’t push it, he never did, which was something the prince appreciated more than he’d ever know.

Before they knew it the race was about to start, and Max could barely refrain from rolling his eyes when he caught sight of himself on one of the screens. He was pretty sure that no Formula 1 fan was interested in seeing him or his reactions, but the media would never pass up the chance to report about their precious royal family.

Max leaned forward to rest his elbows on top of his knees as the drivers gave the warm-up lap, and he could feel his nerves growing as they got in formation and the cameramen just happened to focus on Daniel’s car.

The Australian had assured him countless of times that he was always careful when racing, but it was still nerve-wracking to Max to watch him drive a metal contraption that could easily speed up to more than two hundred miles an hour.

Soon enough it was lights out, and away they went. The viewing box had a perfect view of the La Source curve, so Max and everyone else turned their attention away from the tv and towards the actual track, the prince feeling a lump in his throat as he saw the cars maneuver through the dangerously tight curve.

Daniel had had a brilliant start so far, managing to overtake both Leclerc and Bottas to secure P2, and right now he was barely a second away from Lewis. It was amazing to watch the two drivers battling out, with Dan managing to get closer to Lewis in the curves but the Mercedes driver always managing to pull away whenever they reached the straights.

After twenty eight laps Lewis had managed to form a nearly three seconds gap from the Red Bull, but just then there was a collision between Grosjean and Sainz, and although both drivers thankfully walked out fine they still had to yellow flag it because of some debris that had fallen on the track.

And as the yellow flag waved and the safety car was deployed, it seemed as though the fight wouldn’t be over yet.

Nearly every single car took advantage of the safety car to pit, and Max actually inhaled sharply when he saw Daniel’s team put him in the mediums while everyone else was going for the hards. Even though his impressive poker face gave the impression of him not caring about the results, Max had never felt more conflicted in his life.

On the one hand, he wanted nothing more than for Dan to win, because he knew how much it meant to him whenever all the effort he put into his work actually paid off.

On the other however, him winning meant that Jos and Max would have to hand him his trophy, and that meant that they would have to come face to face.

The safety car went back out on the 35th lap, and although Dan instantly pounced on Lewis he now also had to defend from Charles who was right behind him. Thankfully, the Monegasque got too distracted as he also had to defend from Bottas, and Daniel could put all of his focus on catching the Mercedes.

As they reached the 42nd lap it seemed almost impossible for the Red Bull to steal that P1, until a team radio seemed to bring new hope to it.

“ _Bono… my tyres_ ”

The Mercedes’s tyres didn’t puncture, but it was obvious that there _was_ something wrong with them because Lewis seemed to be struggling considerably to control the car. Daniel was getting closer and closer, and though Max tried with all his might to keep his face from betraying his feelings he still gripped the armrests so tight that his knuckles actually turned white.

On the final lap the two cars were practically wheel to wheel, and right as they passed the Chicane, Daniel finally managed to get the upper hand and cross the finish line barely a centimeter before Lewis.

Max let out a shaky breath, forcing himself to clap politely as the rest of the cars crossed the finished line, very much aware of the fact that he had many cameras pointed at him to capture his reaction.

The prince had to bite his lip to stop a smile from forming on his face as he heard Daniel’s gleeful cheers coming through the team radio, the sound of his voice sending a shiver down his spine even when it was extremely distorted from the static.

He could only enjoy Dan’s happiness for a few more seconds before reality gave him a firm slap to the face, as some staff member approached him to tell him that it was time to head down to the podium ceremony.

Max’s feeling of dread seemed to physically press against his lungs, making it hard for him to even breathe as he got up from the chair and followed after the man. He was aware of Gianpiero walking right behind him, but not even his usually comforting presence was enough to calm him down.

Some other staff members and their security started ushering Jos and Max to the balcony where the ceremony would take place, and Max actually had to clasp his hands behind his back so no one would see how much they were shaking.

The workers were explaining to them how the ceremony would go, but the ringing on Max’s ears made it nearly impossible for him to process what was being said to him.

His father turned to him just before they crossed the glass doors that would lead them outside, with a bored look on his face that told Max he’d rather be anywhere else than there.

“You will hand them the trophies, the people need to get used to seeing you at the front”

Max frowned, since his father had never been one to stand back and let anyone else take the spotlight, but the way he had said it told him that there was no room for argument.

So, he just nodded his assent before walking out into the large balcony before his father, but not before seeing the shocked expression on Gianpiero’s face.

“And here to present today’s winners with their trophies, we are very honored to welcome His Majesty, the King of Belgium, and His Royal Highness, Prince Max Emilian”

Max once again had what Lando referred to as his “prince face” on, waving and smiling at the crowds below them like he had been taught to do when he was just two years old.

“In P3... Valtteri Bottas!”

The Finn shot him a smile as he walked towards his spot, and Max genuinely didn’t know how he managed to return it when he felt three seconds away from throwing up.

“In P2... Lewis Hamilton!”

Lewis also took the time to grin at Max before addressing his adoring fans, but the prince could only focus on his sweaty palms and on how his heart was beating uncomfortably fast and oh God now Daniel was next -

“And your winner of the Belgium Grand Prix... Daniel Ricciardo!”

When Daniel finally walked out, he didn’t even turn to see him, clearly still high on the win as he pumped his fists in the air and jumped up and down as the fans cheered him on.

Even through his panic, Max thought that he looked beautiful.

Some of his curls were sticking to his forehead, damp with sweat, and even though he looked completely exhausted his brown eyes seemed to be sparkling with unbridled joy.

And his smile, that smile which on a normal day could blind a man now looked radiant enough to power a whole damn country.

When the Australian national anthem started playing Max could see Daniel bringing his hands up to presumably wipe tears from his face, and he felt so _proud_ of him that he could even forget about his nerves for a second.

Max got the signal that it was time to give them the trophies as the anthem came to an end, and it took all of his self-control to try and keep his hands steady as they handed him the first trophy.

Daniel still didn’t look at him as he gave the third-place trophy to Valtteri, nor as he gave the second-place one to Lewis.

But then the inevitable happened, and as Max stepped in front of Daniel and the Australian was finally forced to acknowledge him, brown eyes met blue, and the smile fell right off his face.

The first emotion Max could see flash through Daniel was surprise, then confusion, followed by realization and then, of course, hurt.

The prince could do little more than extend his arms to hand him the trophy, and a few uncomfortable seconds passed where Daniel seemed to be frozen by the shock.

But then he seemed to regain some his composure, and Max felt bile rising in his throat as he bowed his head towards him before accepting the trophy.

“Thank you, _your royal highness_ ”

Max flinched at the emphasis on his title, and even though he wanted nothing more than to explain everything to Daniel, to beg him to understand, he knew there was nothing he could do at the moment.

“Congratulations Mr. Ricciardo” he croaked out, all too aware of the hundreds of people that were watching his every move.

Dan gave him a polite smile, but Max nearly flinched again because of how forced it looked.

The prince took a step away from the driver, and it was almost painful to do so.

Daniel’s eyes didn’t leave him until he would have had to physically turn around to keep staring at him, making a deep flush rise up the Belgian’s neck.

His father forced him to take a few steps backwards as the champagne celebrations started, and Max barely had a chance to admire how Daniel looked as Lewis and Valtteri soaked him in the bubbly alcohol before his father was once again pulling him back and into the building.

“Father, shouldn’t we stay longer?” he asked, voice tinged with desperation he hoped Jos wouldn’t catch on to.

He needed to speak to Daniel, he needed to explain, he couldn’t bear the thought of the Australian hating him.

“Whatever for? Our job here is done”

“But -“

“Do not argue with me Max Emilian” Jos snapped, looking equal parts annoyed and confused at his son’s insistence.

That was enough to shut the prince up. However desperate he was, he could never go against his father, he knew all too well what the consequences of that could be.

So, Max forced himself to follow after him, despite every single cell in his body urging him to go back to Daniel.

Back inside the helicopter Max sat next to the King’s equerry and across his father and Gianpiero, and he didn’t miss the way the Italian was looking at him with calculating eyes.

That man had always been too observant for his own good.

The second they were all back inside the castle and his father had retired to his office, Max bolted to his room, ignoring all the curious looks he got from the palace’s staff as he all but sprinted past them.

Once he was in the privacy of his bedroom, he finally felt safe enough to take out his phone, his heart dropping when he saw he didn’t have a single notification from Daniel.

Not that he was expecting otherwise, but it still hurt.

His heart leapt to his throat when he noticed that the Australian was online, and he typed a message with trembling fingers as fast as he could.

  * _Dan, can we talk? Please let me explain._



Not ten seconds passed before the little checkmarks turned blue, but there wasn’t an answer.

  * _Please? I know that you’re mad and you have every right to be, but I can’t let you cut me off from your life without at least explaining myself._



The checkmarks turned blue again, and Max actually felt tears starting to prickle in his eyes.

“Fuck” he cursed, furiously rubbing at his eyes with clenched fists “pull yourself together”

He wasn’t going to give up that easily. He couldn’t, not when Daniel was the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time.

He pulled up Sebastian’s contact then, thanking God that they had all decided to exchange numbers on that first night at Silverstone, and pressed the call button before he could chicken out.

“Hello?” Max said as soon as the ringing stopped, feeling an intense wave of relief wash over his body when the German actually picked up.

“Should you be calling this number your royal highness?”

The prince was so happy to hear his voice that he couldn’t even feel annoyed at the sarcastic greeting.

“Sebastian, I know I fucked up, but I really need to talk to Daniel and he isn’t answering my messages”

Sebastian sighed on the other end of the line, and Max could picture him pinching the bridge of his nose “Well I don’t know what to tell you Max, if he doesn’t wanna talk to you there’s not much I can do about it”

Max knew he was right, it wasn’t like Seb could force Daniel to talk to him.

But suddenly an idea came to his mind, a very stupid and reckless idea, but Max was past the point of caring.

“Could you tell me which hotel he’s staying at then?” he asked, voice tinged with desperation “If he slams the door shut on my face it’s okay but I have to at least try”

The German was silent for a few seconds, clearly debating with himself whether he should help Max or not.

“Fine,” he finally answered, making Max let out a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding “I’ll text you the address. But if you upset him even more, I will _end_ you, prince or not”

Max nodded his head rapidly before remembering Sebastian couldn’t see him “I’ll end me myself, don’t worry”

Sebastian snorted, not bothering to say goodbye to him before hanging up.

Max cursed again when he checked the clock and noticed it was already six pm. He’d have to figure something out quickly if he wanted to be able to talk to Dan before he left for God knows which country (it was Italy, Max had taken it upon himself to memorize the entire F1 calendar).

A small part of him wanted to ask Victoria for help, but no matter how much he trusted his sister he also knew there wasn’t much she could do this time. And it was the exact same case with Lando.

His mother was out of the question, since Max would never do anything that might get her in trouble with his father.

So that just left him with one viable option, but choosing that option would mean for Max to do something that he never did: trusting someone unconditionally.

It said a lot about how desperate he was that he didn’t even allow himself to overthink his decision, instead just leaving his room to go to a very familiar office on the floor level of the palace.

He was always told that it wasn’t necessary for him to knock, but it still felt rude as hell to just barge in, so he gave two sharp knocks on the wooden floors and waited to be called in.

“The door’s open”

Max steeled himself before pushing inside, and the man behind the desk looked up at him in surprise before quickly standing up.

“Your royal highness…?”

“Gianpiero, I need your help”

* * *

If he was being honest, Max had not expected his equerry to agree so readily to help him. The prince hadn’t even had to explain himself too much, and it was testament to how desperate he must have looked that it only took him three minutes to convince the man to drive him over to the hotel Sebastian had given him the address to.

Even if Gianpiero would never say it out loud (he was entirely too professional to do so), Max could tell the man was a little mad at him. Not for making him help in his plan, but for finally confessing everything he’d been up to for the past few months.

“Are you mad at me?” the prince asked when the silence of the car became too uncomfortable for him not to break it.

The Italian hummed, never once taking his eyes off the road.

“It is not my place to be mad your royal highness” he answered, but Max knew he wasn’t done yet “But if it was my place, do I think I would be quite angry about the fact that you and the Duke of Northampton snuck out to attend one of the most popular sporting events there is without even one person to keep an eye on you, and without telling anyone where you were going in case anything happened to either of you? Perhaps”

Max shrunk in his seat. There it was.

“I’m sorry GP. I know it was stupid, but I honestly can’t say I regret it, not when I got Daniel out of it”

The equerry was silent for a moment, before lightly clearing his throat “I presume your royal highness really cares for this Daniel?”

Max nodded, a smile stretching across his face at the mention of the Australian.

“I do… I think I might even be in love with the guy”

Gianpiero didn’t say anything more after that, but from the corner of his eye, Max could see the small grin that had appeared on his face.

They reached to hotel pretty quickly thanks to the fact that there was almost no traffic on Sunday night’s, and Gianpiero made Max promise he would go back to the car the second the equerry told him to.

The prince put on a simple black hat on his head before exiting the car and entering the hotel, trying to walk as quickly as he possibly could towards the elevators without it looking suspicious. He was standing in front of Daniel’s room in no time, palms sweaty, and before he could lose his courage, he brought a hand up to knock at his door.

Daniel opened it not a minute later, his eyes widening in surprise as they landed on the prince. Max was more than prepared to stick his foot on the door to keep the other man from shutting it in his face, so it caught him completely off guard when the driver looked around the corridor instead before pulling him into the room.

“Is it safe for you to be here?” Dan asked the moment the door shut, staring at Max with those kind brown eyes that didn’t seem to have even a trace of anger in them.

“Um – as safe as it can be, I guess” Max stuttered out “I convinced my equerry to drive me here so I’m not totally alone”

Daniel nodded, seeming to relax slightly at his words.

“Alright, good. Do you want to sit down?”

Max nodded mutely, following Daniel to sit at the small couch in the middle of the suite. He had planned out a whole speech in his head during the car ride from the palace to the hotel, but he had expected the man to be furious at him, and thus he had planned for that.

He’d never expected for Daniel to be seemingly perfectly fine. Admittedly, he looked completely exhausted, but that was about it.

“You’re not mad at me?” Max murmured, training his eyes firmly on his lap so that he wouldn’t have to face Daniel.

The Australian sighed, running a hand through his messy curls.

“I was very pissed off earlier,” he admitted, making Max flinch slightly “which is why I wasn’t answering any of your texts”

“What changed?”

“Lando, George and Alex talked to me”

Max snapped his head up to look at Daniel at his words, eyes widening in shock.

Dan chuckled “Yeah. I was even more angry at first when I realized George and Alex had known for a while, but they forced me to talk to Lando on the phone so that he could explain the situation. After that I was still a little mad, but I also understood why you didn’t tell me”

The driver paused for a beat, wanting to make sure Max got everything he was saying.

“Lando told me about how much you hate your title, and he tried to make me understand how difficult it is to be a part royalty. I’d obviously never thought about it like that… but now I have, and it makes perfect sense why you’d want to get away from all of it, even for a little while”

The prince vowed he would actually kiss the Duke the next time he saw him

“I’m sorry Dan… I was going to tell you soon I swear, I had it all planned out. It didn’t feel right for me to tell you over the phone, so I was going to wait until the weekend of the Monaco Grand Prix to talk to you in person, before the royal gala”

Daniel nodded thoughtfully, and his shoulders seemed to relax completely after that.

“I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t wish you’d told me sooner, but I’m not angry at you Max. I don’t think I ever could be for long”

Max felt as though an immense weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and he finally allowed himself to smile tentatively, the smile widening when he saw it reflected on Daniel’s face.

The prince thought he’d actually stopped breathing when he noticed how close he had gotten to Dan, since if he focused hard enough, he could even notice every tiny freckle that adorned his beautiful nose.

“I was so scared you’d hate me” Max breathed out, Daniel shivering as he felt his hot breath hitting his face.

“How could I ever hate you Max? I lo-“

A shrill ringing interrupted his words, and Dan sighed as Max scrambled for his phone, instantly picking up when he saw Gianpiero’s name flashing across the screen.

“Hello”

“It’s time to leave if we want to get back at an appropriate time your royal highness, I expect you down here in less than five minutes or I _will_ come to get you”

Max rolled his eyes, “I’ll be there GP, don’t worry”

He hung up, cocking his head to the side in confusion when he saw the baffled look on Dan’s eyes.

“What is it?”

Dan snapped out of it, rubbing the back of his neck as he gave him a sheepish grin “Oh it’s nothing, I just find it a little weird to hear someone refer to you as ‘ _your royal highness_ ’. I mean I know now that’s your title, of course, but it still feels strange”

Max nodded understandingly, very happy to see that Daniel really was taking it surprisingly well.

“You should see me in a crown” Max teased, but when Dan’s eyes seemed to darken at the thought, he felt his throat dry up.

“I bet that’s a sight to behold” the Australian nearly whispered, his eyes flicking to Max’s lips for a second before licking his own.

Suddenly the tension in the room felt palpable enough to be cut by a knife, and Max cursed to the seven winds inside his head for having to go back to Gianpiero.

“I wish I didn’t, but I really have to go” the prince lamented “Gianpiero – my equerry – definitely wasn’t joking when he said he’d come up here to drag me back to the car if I didn’t hurry”

Daniel sighed, nodding regretfully before standing up from the couch and offering a hand to Max to help him do the same. The moment their skin touched Max felt a bolt of electricity run through his body, and by Dan’s expression he could tell he felt it to.

The two stood in front of the door for a few seconds, neither wanting to say goodbye first but knowing they had to eventually.

“I can’t believe I only get to see you for a few minutes when I’ve been thinking of meeting you in person again for ages” Daniel broke the silence with a sad smile.

“I know, but we’ll see each other again soon, in Monaco”

The sadness lifted a bit from the Australian’s face, his gorgeous smile more genuine.

“I can’t wait”

Max stepped forward to give him a hug, wanting to do so much more than that but at the same time not wanting to do anything in a rush. When he finally found his nerve to make the next move, he wanted for it to be perfect.

“Bye Dan”

“Bye Maxy”

The prince had to force himself to step back from the embrace, instantly feeling cold at the lack of Daniel’s warmth.

Dan walked him over to the elevator, his brown eyes only leaving Max’s blue ones until the elevator’s doors fell closed and there was physically no way for them to keep looking at each other.

Max leaned against the elevator door as he let out a dreamy sigh, feeling very much like he imagined a schoolboy would after spending time with his crush.

He would be counting down the seconds before he saw Daniel again.

* * *

Max ran trembling hands down his suit jacket, smoothing out inexistent wrinkles just so he could have something to take his mind off the anxiety.

It was the night of the annual gala held at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, and that meant that Max would be seeing Dan again in person, for the first time after he’d found out about his true identity.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Daniel, he’d actually been dying to see the man face to face ever since he left that hotel room in Brussels.

But he didn’t want to have to pretend that he’d never met Daniel. Or Sebastian, or Alex, or George.

He wanted to hang out with them and just be Max, not Prince Max Emilian.

“It’s going to be fine Maxy” Victoria said, leaning forwards to place a comforting hand on top of his.

Max tried to smile, but he knew it came out more like a grimace. He was just glad that this time he’d gotten to ride with Victoria instead of his father, since being in the King’s presence for longer than he had to would just cause his anxiety to spike.

The limousine was pulling up to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco entirely too soon, and he clutched his sister’s hand like a lifeline as the valet opened the door for them.

As soon as they got out Max had to resist the urge to shield his eyes from the hundreds of camera flashes pointed their way.

Max and Victoria posed for a couple of pictures, perfect yet forced smiles gracing both their faces. When you were born into royalty you learned how to always look your best in front of a crowd, even when you wanted nothing more than to be somewhere else.

The prince was pulling his sister along the moment it wouldn’t be seen as disrespectful for them to leave, and as they entered the palace, he felt that he could breathe a little easier.

They were still surrounded by a hundred people, but at least they were safe from the paparazzi’s prying eyes.

Max and Victoria were greeted warmly by Prince Albert and Princess Charlene, whom they had known practically their entire lives. They were quite alright people - for royals, at least.

An usher then guided them over to their assigned table, where their parents were already waiting for them along with whom Max recognized to be part of the Spaniard Royal Family.

“Ah there they are,” Jos announced when his children reached his side, standing up from his seat to clasp a firm hand on Max’s shoulder that had him instantly tensing up “Max Emilian, you of course remember Princess Elena?”

A girl around his age stood up then, tucking a strand of chestnut colored hair behind her ear before turning a pair of hazel eyes towards Max.

The princess was undoubtedly very pretty, and the light pink gown she had opted to wear seemed to bring out her lovely tanned skin.

And yet, all Max could think of was how her eyes were the wrong shade of brown.

“Of course” the prince agreed, bowing his head and bringing Elena’s hand up to press a chaste kiss against her knuckles.

Elena curtsied lightly before giving him a kind smile, “I believe we last saw each other when we were still children”

The prince suddenly vividly remembered a young girl sitting next to him under the shade of the trees of the palace’s garden, both of them with books in their laps as all the other royal children chose to run around the garden - and his smile turned more genuine.

“Yes, that sounds right”

Max ended up sitting between Elena and Victoria during dinner, and he was pleasantly surprised at how nice the Spaniard was (unlike most of her family, whom Max had never taken a liking to).

Dinner was as spectacular as could be expected from the Monegasques, but even with the distraction provided by the delicious food, Max couldn’t help but let his eyes wander around the room every few minutes, trying to find Daniel amongst the many tables.

Soon enough, the tables were cleared and an orchestra started playing, Prince Albert and Princess Charlene taking to the floor for the first dance.

“Max, why don’t you ask Elena to dance?” his father asked, the tone of his voice telling him that it was anything but a suggestion.

The prince nodded curtly, standing up to extend his hand to the princess.

“If I may?”

“Of course”

They were the firsts to join the Monegasques, and everyone clapped politely as they easily fell into a graceful waltz.

Max and Elena were a sight to behold. Two young and beautiful royals, seeming to move in perfect sync with each other, looking like something out of a period drama.

The prince could almost see the headlines that would undoubtedly be written about them the next day. About a possible new royal romance blossoming, or about how they had been secretly in love for years now. It would be such an easy narrative to push.

And yet.

And yet, if people payed close enough attention, they would be able to notice how Max’s eyes couldn’t focus on Elena’s face, instead roaming all over the ballroom in search of the one person he wanted to see more than anything.

“Who are you looking for?” Elena asked, snapping Max out of his thoughts and making him finally focus on her.

“No one” he quickly answered “sorry if I seemed distracted”

The princess chuckled “You don’t have to lie to me Max, and if it makes you feel any better just know that you’re not exactly the person I want to be dancing with either. No offence”

Max huffed out a laugh at her bluntness, once more finding himself pleasantly surprised by the girl.

“Oh?”

“Well, there’s this beautiful girl who I know is somewhere around here tonight, and I’ve been fantasizing about having her in my arms all night”

If Max had been surprised before, now he was proper shocked, and he knew his surprise was evident because Elena snorted inelegantly.

“Come on Max,” Elena said “us gays can sense each other from a mile, I’m kinda offended you didn’t figure it out before”

Max’s answering grin was blinding, but just as he was about to say something, he met an unmistakable pair of warm brown eyes and the words instantly died in his throat.

Daniel was sitting at one of the tables at the edge of the dancefloor, sandwiched between Sebastian and Lewis.

His normally messy hair was elegantly combed, and he was wearing a maroon suit that made him look like royalty.

The intense way he was staring at Max almost had him tripping over his own feet, as he felt a flush crawl up his neck.

“A Formula 1 driver? Have to admit I didn’t expect that”

Elena’s voice once again pulled him back to reality, his blush intensifying as he saw the cheeky expression on her face.

“Yeah,” Max breathed out “I really didn’t expect it either”

They danced for a couple more songs, with Max stealing glances with Daniel every time he passed by his table. He didn’t feel guilty for not paying attention to Elena, since she was doing the exact same thing with her mystery girl.

“Come on, we should go get something to drink”

Max let Elena lead him to the bar, his eyebrows rising when he saw Daniel and Sebastian were also there.

“You’re welcome” the princess winked, patting his arm twice before turning around and heading back to their table.

Daniel straightened up when he noticed Max walking towards him, letting his eyes travel slowly up and down the prince’s body.

“Hey” Max greeted with a shy smile.

“Your royal majesty” the drivers chorused as they bowed their heads, instantly wiping the smile off Max’s face.

“You really don’t have to do that”

Daniel shrugged, but he looked sincerely apologetic “We‘re always reminded that we have to follow protocol, I’m sorry but we can’t risk getting in trouble”

The prince just sighed, turning towards the bartender to order a double vodka and shooting it straight.

Sebastian raised his eyebrows “Might want to slow down there, it’s only 10pm”

In response, Max ordered the same thing again, Dan glaring at the bartender as he quickly poured it for him, although he was only doing his job.

“I need to do what I can to get through this”

Daniel sighed “Your royal highness -“

“Forget it” Max cut him off, his blue eyes icy with anger “I’m gonna go find Lando”

Logically, Max knew it was the right thing to do for Daniel to keep their interactions as distant as possible, since they could never be sure who was watching.

But he was tired of being logical. He was tired of always having to do the right thing, the appropriate thing.

He must have been looking for Lando for nearly an hour, but there were too many people and too many tables, and the lights were infuriatingly dim.

Also, people kept stopping him to talk to him and it was getting increasingly harder to pretend that he cared about what any of them had to say.

It wasn’t helping at all that the two double vodkas he had were not mixing well with the wine he’d had with dinner, making his brain feel fuzzy and his eyesight slightly unfocused.

Suddenly a strong hand reached out to grab his forearm, forcing Max to turn around and face the owner of said hand.

“I was hoping to find you here Max”

Prince Matthias of Monaco. Of course.

The prince was wearing a white suit that made him look like something out of a Disney film, with his raven black hair cascading in waves over his shoulders, and his light grey eyes seeming to shine under the dim lights.

“Hello Matt” Max slurred slightly, the Monegasque’s face lighting up with amusement when he realized the Belgian was more than a little tipsy.

To say Matthias and Max had history would be a bit of an understatement, since they had been sleeping together ever since both men were old enough to do so.

It was strictly sexual, of course, with no feelings attached.

Max just enjoyed the distraction from the painfully boring events they normally did it at, and Matthias had always been one for chasing after pretty things.

Besides, the two princes liked the certainty of knowing that neither of them would go to the press, since it would be equally detrimental to their public images.

“Would you dance with me Maxy?”

 _Maxy_.

Max realized that when the nickname came from the prince’s mouth, it didn’t sound half as right as when Dan said it.

The Belgian knew he shouldn’t.

Sure, most people were probably already too drunk to pay attention to them at this point, but it was still too early for his father to have left and he knew that if the King happened to see his son dancing with another man, there’d be hell to pay.

But he was drunk, and angry, and frustrated, so he simply nodded and allowed Matthias to slip an arm around his waist and lead him towards the dance floor.

The orchestra had been replaced by a DJ, and they were playing music that was more modern, but Matthias still placed his hand on the small of Max’s back and started leading him as he would in a waltz.

Matthias held Max much closer to him than was necessary, and as the song progressed he could feel his hand sliding lower and lower until it was almost grazing the top of his ass.

Max closed his eyes, because like that, with his eyes shut, he could almost pretend it was Daniel who had him in his arms.

If he focused hard enough, he could pretend it was his calloused hands that were holding him, instead of the soft ones of the prince.

“Excuse me, your royal highness?”

The Belgian smiled, it was almost as if he could hear Daniel’s voice.

“Your royal highness?”

“Maxy dear, I think he’s talking to you”

Max’s eyes flew open as Matthias brought them to a halt, and sure enough, Daniel was standing right in front of them, face uncharacteristically stony.

“Dan” Max breathed out, making Matthias quirk an intrigued eyebrow.

“May I cut in?” Daniel asked, and even though he was addressing the Monegasque, his eyes never left Max.

Matthias looked between them for a moment, before an amused smirk appeared on his face.

“Why of course Mr. Ricciardo,” he conceded, lightly pushing the Belgian towards him, almost as if he was handing him over “take care of my boy, yes?”

Daniel’s nostrils seemed to flare at Matt’s words, but Max couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just the alcohol playing tricks on his mind.

The Australian placed his hands almost on the exact same spots Matthias had, but while he had just felt indifference at the prince’s touch, he shivered under Daniel’s.

Max had no idea where Dan had learned how to dance like that, but he was nearly as graceful as Matthias had been as he led them around the floor.

“You hadn’t mentioned you were such good friends with the Prince of Monaco, Max” Daniel finally said, a bitter tone underlying his words.

The prince scowled, suddenly remembering why he had been mad at him.

“Oh so it’s Max now?”

He knew it was a petty thing to say, but Max had never been known for thinking before he spoke when he was mad.

Daniel sighed “You know why I had to address you by your title, we talked about this”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it”

“You think I do?” The driver bristled “You think I like having to pretend I don’t know you? Watching you from afar as you go from the arms of one royal to the next?”

“Why do you even care?” Max scoffed, flinching slightly as he felt Daniel tighten the hold he had on his waist.

“Why do I _care_? Max, I care because I -“

“Guys, I’m sorry to interrupt but it’s kinda urgent”

Daniel groaned at the sound of Sebastian’s voice, letting his hands drop to his sides as the two men turned to the German.

Max instantly felt cold at the loss of his touch.

“What is it Seb?”

“It’s Lando”

Max tensed, seeming to sober up when he heard his best friend’s name.

“What’s wrong with Lando?”

“I think you should better come with me”

He nodded, not thinking it twice before following after Sebastian.

Daniel also followed behind them, and the three men weaved through the crowds until they exited the ballroom into one of the halls of the palace.

The prince instantly spotted the Duke sitting on the floor, his head resting on George’s shoulder while Alex stood over them with a worried look on his face.

“Maxyyyy!” Lando exclaimed as soon as he saw Max, extending his arms towards him and nearly falling over at the motion.

Thankfully George was there to steady him, forcing Lando to lean back against him as he giggled.

“Is he drunk?” Max asked the two men as he leaned in front of Lando, huffing when the Duke grabbed him by the lapels of his suit to pull him into a hug.

“I love you so much Maxy, so so much”

The prince sighed at the slur of his voice, but still patted his back reassuringly “I love you too Lando”

“Yes he is but I swear he only had three drinks at the most” George answered, helping Max get out of his friend’s grip so that the Duke wouldn’t choke him.

“Lando doesn’t drink at all” Max explained, running a tender hand through the Brit’s hair “it’s no wonder it hit him so hard”

“We called you because it’s probably best for him to go sleep it off, but we have no idea where he’s staying” Alex piped in, and even through the worry he felt for Lando, Max couldn’t help but smile as he saw the caring look on the Thai’s face.

“We’re staying at the same hotel so I’ll head back with him, don’t worry”

“Can we go with?” George interjected quickly “We feel kinda guilty for letting him get like this, and we wouldn’t mind looking after him”

Alex nodded in agreement, and Max pretended to think about it for a second before doing the same. Even if he said no, he was sure neither of them would care.

“I’ll come too” Daniel piped in “you know, in case you need any help”

Max couldn’t see why they would need Daniel when there were already three people who could take care of Lando, but his anger had seemed to dissipate along with his drunkenness, so he only nodded once more.

“Okay, let’s go”

Max got Lando on his feet with Alex’s help, each of them slinging one of his arms around their shoulders to help him walk towards the exit.

Since it was nearly two in the morning there wasn’t anyone anymore outside of the palace, and George traded places with Max as he went to ask the valet to call for his car.

The limo arrived not five minutes later, and George and Alex carefully helped Lando inside before climbing in after him.

“I promised Lewis we would head back together, but you call me when you get to the hotel okay?”

“Sure,” Max answered “thanks for coming to find me Sebastian”

“Of course” Seb smiled, clasping his shoulder in a friendly manner before saying goodbye to Daniel and heading back inside the palace.

“After you” Daniel said, holding the door open and motioning for Max to enter the car.

“Thanks”

It was a very short ride back to the hotel, and since Max instructed the driver to drop them off at the back entrance they didn’t even have to worry about anyone seeing them.

George opted for carrying Lando bridal style since he fell asleep on the way there, and Max really was glad to see that his best friend had found two guys as great as him and Alex.

Max directed them all to Lando’s suite - which was a floor below his - and fished the room key out of the Briton’s suit’s inner pocket to open the door.

Then, he turned to stare the two drivers down, feeling very pleased with himself as they shrunk at his stern glare.

“You better take good care of him, and I expect you to call me if anything happens”

George and Alex readily agreed, promising to not take their eyes off him and to force him to drink water and eat something when he woke up.

That was good enough for Max, so after pressing a kiss to Lando’s forehead he ushered them into the room and closed the door after them.

Daniel and Max were finally left alone them, and the prince just then realised how quiet the Australian had gotten since they left the palace.

“Um, my room’s on the next floor if you want to come?”

Dan hesitated for a moment, seemingly having an inner battle with himself.

“Sure” he said after finally making up his mind, and Max cleared his throat awkwardly as he called for the elevator and led him to his room.

Max was feeling exhausted when him and Daniel finally made it back to the prince’s room - a ridiculously enormous suite that could have easily housed ten people but which only he was sleeping in.

Dan let out a low whistle as they entered the room “Damn, and here I thought F1 drivers got the best rooms”

“It’s ridiculous I know, a small family could live here” Max sighed as he got rid of his very expensive and very uncomfortable shoes by just kicking them off.

The Belgian let himself drop on one of the many couches, leaning his head back and closing his tired eyes. He stayed like that for a few seconds, and when he cracked one eye open, he found that Daniel was staring at him - wonder filling his eyes.

He quirked an eyebrow “What?”

The sound of his voice seemed to snap Daniel out of his daze, and he shook his head softly, making his already unruly curls bounce all over the place.

“Nothing”

“Come on Dan just tell me”

The Australian let out a shaky breath, taking a few steps forward but still keeping a safe distance from Max.

“It’s just...” he started tentatively, trailing off as he tried to find the right words to say “I still haven’t gotten used to seeing you like this”

“Like how?”

“Like _this_ ” Dan tried again, using hand motions to point to Max and everything around him.

“Oh... like a prince” Max’s face dropped, suddenly understanding what he meant.

“I don’t mean it in a bad way” Dan was quick to reassure, taking another two steps closer but stopping just short from the edge of the couch “it’s just that I was so used to Max the political consultant, Max the nerd who completely loves math, Max the guy who really likes baking shows... not Max Emilian, future King of Belgium”

The younger man sat up straighter on the couch, his blue eyes flashing with hurt.

“I’m still all those things Daniel, just because I come from royalty doesn’t mean I stop being myself”

“And I know that, but you have to understand it’s not easy to just readily come to terms with the fact that you’re going to rule over an entire country someday” 

Max chuckled humorlessly “Yeah you don’t need to tell me that, I’ve been trying to my entire life”

Dan took one step closer, and after a brief moment’s hesitation he sat down next to him.

“You’re going to be an incredible monarch Maxy” he said softly, and the earnestness in his words was enough to make the prince look up at him through lowered lashes.

“You really think so?”

“Of course I do. Ever since I first saw you I could tell you were special, and as I got to know you better I knew you were one of the smartest people I’d ever met”

Max averted his eyes again, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I’m not sure about that Dan, I really don’t think I’m strong enough”

“Are you kidding me? Max, you’re the strongest person I know” Dan inched closer to him, trying - needing - to get the prince to believe him “You literally have the weight of an entire country on your shoulders and you don’t let it break you!”

Max sniffled, and Daniel actually had to place his hands below his thighs to stop himself from doing something stupid like hugging him or wiping the tears off his eyes.

“I’ve come close to breaking”

Fuck it, Dan thought, scooting even closer to grab Max’s hands in his own in order to force him to look at him.

“But you haven’t, and that’s all that matters”

At the feeling of Daniel’s warm hands on his, Max couldn’t resist the urge to lift his head upwards, and he could feel the oxygen leaving his body as he noticed how close the other man was.

From this distance Max could see every single freckle on Daniel’s tan skin, adorning his face like paint speckles on the most beautiful canvas.

The Belgian unconsciously started leaning forwards, and it was suddenly so quiet that he could hear Daniel’s gulp.

Max closed his eyes, and just as he felt the softest brush of Dan’s lips against his own, the other man was pulling away and scrambling off the couch.

The prince opened his eyes again only to see Daniel’s terrified face as he walked backwards until he was almost pressing his back against the door.

“Fuck I’m sorry - I shouldn’t have -“

“I wanted you to” Max’s voice was only a whisper, yet it almost seemed to resound across the quiet room.

Daniel shut his eyes tightly, “Don’t. Don’t say that”

Max didn’t know where this sudden boldness had come from. Normally he wouldn’t talk about his feelings even if it was a matter of life or death, and now here he was, all but confessing to Daniel exactly how he felt.

Maybe it was the safety of the cover of the night, or maybe it was the fact that he’d been repressing them for so long that it was too hard to keep holding them in, or maybe it was the slight buzz the alcohol he drank at the gala had given him.

“Why not? It’s the truth”

“Stop” Daniel croaked, fully leaning against the wall now “you don’t want me, you shouldn’t want me”

“Don’t fucking say that” Max couldn’t help the flare of anger that rose through his chest “All my life I’ve been told what to do, what to say or not say, what I should or shouldn’t want... don’t do that. Not you too”

“I’m saying it for you Max!” Daniel exclaimed, the sudden change in his tone making the prince flinch.

He had never heard Dan like this before. Sure, he’d seen him disappointed after a face, or frustrated. But never like this.

“You’re the fucking crown prince of Belgium, you deserve someone worthy of that title. You deserve someone like Princess Elena, or - or even Prince Matthias, fuck you deserve a _king_ , Max. Not someone who drives cars for a living”

Max abruptly stood up from the couch “But I don’t want any of them damn it!”

“I’m not worthy of you”

“For fuck’s sake, stop making decisions for me! I want _you_ Daniel, and unless you tell me you don’t want me, I won’t stop insisting”

There was a beat of silence, with Daniel struggling with what to say next and with Max praying to any God that was out there that the Australian wouldn’t actually say he didn’t want him.

Max was sure he’d actually die if he heard those words coming out from Daniel’s mouth.

“I can’t” Daniel finally broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper as he stared firmly at the floor.

The surge of hope that flooded Max was almost enough to make him dizzy.

He tentatively started walking towards Daniel, until he was standing less than ten centimeters away from the man.

Dan was still refusing to look at him, but when Max brought a hand up to tilt his chin up, he almost crumbled at the touch, and couldn’t resist meeting those ocean blue eyes he could get lost in forever.

“What do you want?” Max breathed out, his hot breath fanning against Daniel’s face and making a shiver run down his spine.

“I want _you_ ”

“ _Then take me_ ”

That was the breaking point for Daniel, and he quickly surged forward to capture Max’s lips in his own.

The kiss was anything but tentative. It was hard, and messy, and passionate, and it seemed as though both men were pouring everything they felt into it.

Daniel wasted no time in bringing a hand up to fist on Max’s hair, and the prince made an urgent noise in the back of his throat, ducking forwards so he could press his body flush against Dan’s.

“I know you think we’d be wrong,” Max panted, nearly speaking into Daniel’s mouth “but I don’t care - I don’t care, I want - I want everything”

Daniel actually whimpered, lifting Max up so he could wrap his legs around his waist and walking them both over to the couch.

Max easily settled into his lap so that he was straddling the Australian, and now it was his hands pulling against Daniel’s curls.

“You never have to fight me for what you want” he said helplessly, running his thumb up Max’s cheeks, tracing the ridge of his cheekbones.

“I’d give you anything” Dan continued, while Max bent his head to unbutton his shirt. Daniel ran his hands up Max’s thighs and worked at the button of his pants, left hand sliding down to cup between his legs. Max grunted at the sudden touch and pressure, twisting into it. "Anything you wanted, I'm an idiot, I don’t have much to offer, but I would -"

“Not an idiot” Max mouthed onto the skin of his shoulder “I don’t need anything else, not as long as I have you” he stopped with a little pleased cry, practically riding Daniel’s hand, hips grinding into his touch. "Dan, please."

“Not yet,” he murmured, all the hesitation from earlier seemingly having vanished now that he had Max in his arms.

“Dan -“

“Shh it’s okay” Daniel said, kissing him gently, all the pieces falling into place.

Max was the prince of Belgium; he could have anyone and everything he wanted with just a beckoning of his finger.

And yet.

And yet, somehow, it was Dan who he wanted.

Daniel tried, fuck, he really had tried to keep Max away, to sacrifice his own wants just so the prince could have someone he actually deserved.

But he was only human, and hearing Max say that he wanted him, that he actually wanted _him_... that was something he never would’ve been able to resist.

Daniel lifted Max’s hips up a little, helping him unsteadily to his feet and standing, keeping him close.

Of course he was burning with desire for the younger man, but as he held him close he thought that he wouldn’t mind them just staying in that position forever.

He was officially fucked.

Max kissed him, still leaning against him, and Daniel stumbled backwards with him towards the bedroom, one arm hooked around his waist to keep them together.

His shirt was hanging off one wrist, pants open, Max’s shirt gone completely; and they fell onto the enormous bed in a mess of clothes and hands.

By the time he was tugging Max’s pants off, the Belgian was breathless, flushed, smiling. Daniel ducked down for a kiss, then leaned over him (Max’s hands skating possessively up his ribcage, one ankle twining with his).

"Have you ever...?" he asked, around a hungry kiss.

"Yeah, it's fine, I want -" Max whined briefly when Daniel licked his ear.

"Good boy," Dan agreed, shifting as Max rolled onto his stomach.

Daniel worked his mouth down along the back of his shoulder, the sharp line of the shoulder blade. His hand dragged up Max’s thigh, tugging gently.

For a moment he just let himself rut down against the warm skin under his, and Max responded with a soft moan.

" _Mine_ ," Daniel murmured as he slicked his fingers, sliding them over Max’s skin and starting to work him open gently “my little prince”

"Yeah," Max managed after a minute, but he sounded out of breath. "More, it's fine, more?"

The prince bucked against the bed and for a second Daniel stilled, because it felt as if he were struggling under the weight of Dan’s body. But when he went still so did Max, relaxing into his touch.

Daniel kissed his neck, reveling at the needy sounds coming out nonstop from the prince’s lips.

"Please, Dan, please," Max said, his voice thin and desperate, and Daniel rested his forehead against Max’s neck, just breathing for a moment against the almost violently possessive instinct Max was bringing out in him.

"Condom," he mumbled after a second, “condom, fuck -"

“Bedside table” Max panted, and Daniel didn’t even dwell on the fact that the little shit had apparently planned this all along before he was reaching towards the drawer.

His fingers closed around a slick foil packet just as Max moved, hips twisting, shoulders turning to flip Dan off him and onto his back. Daniel hit the bed, startled, and then Max was pinning him down, plucking the condom out of his fingers.

Dan could only watch in the dim light as those deft and elegant hands worked the package open, stroked the condom down his cock, slid up his chest to take Max’s weight as he eased down, thighs tense.

Max was easing up now, slowly. The heat and pull of him, the flush spreading across his chest and his hooded eyes, it was enough to break a better man than Daniel.

“You’re beautiful,” Daniel breathed out “so beautiful like this”

He gripped his hips and rolled, bringing Max back down under him. Max let out a string of curses in Dutch, and bucked up against his thrusts, body arching wonderfully. Completely lost in it.

"Daniel," he mumbled, groaning, twisting, while Dan sweated and swore above him, leaning down to kiss his chest, the furthest he could reach.

It was like that high right before finishing a race, knowing he would be getting sprayed by champagne on the podium, the moment before he crossed the checkered flag -

Max gripped his hair with one hand, grabbed at his arm with the other - hard enough to hurt, a sweet edge to the sex - and came with a gasp, pulling Daniel down into orgasm after him.

Daniel could barely use his forearms to stop himself from collapsing against Max, instead twisting his body so he could land besides him, struggling to catch his breath.

Although to him Max always looked beautiful, Dan had to admit there was something breathtaking about how he looked right at this moment.

His pale skin was flushed red, beads of sweat shining on his forehead, his previously perfect hairstyle now sticking up all over the place from the way Daniel had raked his hands through it.

And his eyes, his usually bright blue eyes were still hazed from the pleasure, eyelids drooping ever so slightly as he tried to fight the urge to fall asleep.

Daniel leaned forward to press a gentle kiss to his lips, chuckling as a tired yet happy smile appeared on the prince’s face.

“Go to sleep Maxy, I’ve got you”

Max hummed contently, finally allowing his eyes to fall shut and drifting into the best sleep he’d had in a long time.

* * *

When the prince woke up the next morning, it was with the same happy smile he’d gone to sleep with still firmly plastered on his face.

Daniel was already awake when he opened his eyes, and Max thought that he wouldn’t mind waking up to that sight for the rest of his life.

“Morning” the Aussie said, voice still a little rough with sleep.

“Morning”

They just stayed like that for a few more minutes, laying beneath the safety of the covers and facing each other, neither of them wanting to get out of the bed to face the real world yet. But unfortunately, they both had flights to catch, and Dan also had to get back to his own hotel.

“I have to go” Daniel murmured regretfully, pressing a quick kiss to Max’s lips when he saw the crestfallen expression that fell over him “We’ll see each other again soon Maxy, I promise. We’ll figure it out”.

Max sighed, but still gave a weak nod.

“Promise?”

“Promise”

Daniel got out of the bed and started dressing in his clothes from last night silently, with Max staring at him the entire time with a gaze that was equal parts sad and loving. He finished buttoning up his suit entirely too soon, but even then, he still couldn’t bring himself to say goodbye to the prince.

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to let you go now that I finally have you” Max said, and now it was Daniel who sighed, before walking back to the bed so he could cradle the Belgian’s face with his hands.

“You’re not letting me go love, no matter how far away from each other we are, I’m always yours”

Max leaned forward to close the space between them, trying to inject all that he felt for the older man in that one kiss.

“Text me when you get on the plane okay?”

With that, Daniel finally left the room, Max staring after him until the door fell shut behind him.

It seemed to the prince that he got ready in autopilot, memories of last night making it impossible for him to think of anything other than Daniel.

When Gianpiero came knocking on his door to lead him down to car that would take him to the airport, he knew that his equerry knew exactly what had happened last night if the unimpressed look on his face was anything to go by.

But Max really didn’t care if the Italian disapproved of his lack of caution, and he kept sighing dreamily during the entire car ride – which was driving the poor older man insane.

As soon as he got into the private jet and made eye contact with his sister, her eyes widened dramatically, instantly deducing what her brother had been up to after the Gala. The princess knew she couldn’t precisely ask him about him with a few of their staff so close by, but she gave him a look that clearly said they’d talk about it when they got back home.

When his phone buzzed he almost dropped it in his haste to open the message, Victoria snorting in a very un-ladylike manner at his clumsiness.

  * _Hey Maxy, I’m on the plane with Seb and Lewis. Call you when we land in Hungary x_



  * _I’m already on the plane with Vic as well, tell the guys I said hi._



  * _They say hi back :)_ _  
Can’t wait to have you in my arms again._



Max grinned stupidly at the message.

  * _Me neither, I really wish I could kiss you right now._



Time seemed to fly by, and Max barely paid attention to his movements as he got out of the jet and into the SUV waiting for them, allowing some footman to carry his bags for him.

They were pulling up at the palace in no time, and the prince had every intention of heading back to his room to call Daniel, and maybe go to Victoria’s room to tell her all about what had happened after that.

But before he could do that the same footman from before stepped in front of him to block his path “Your royal highness, His Majesty has requested your presence in his office”

Max frowned, not knowing what his father could possibly want with him right now.

“Of course, I’ll just go to my room quickly and I’ll head right there”

“I’m afraid he was quite insistent” the footman pressed.

Max’s frown deepened at that, but he still nodded and followed after the man.

An uneasy feeling was starting to gnaw at him as they got closer to the King’s study, and when he opened the heavy wooden doors, he felt his stomach drop at the sight that greeted him.

Jos was sitting behind his desk, back perfectly straight as it usually was, a half-full glass of whiskey in front of him. But what made the icy feeling of panic take hold of Max was what he was holding between his hands.

“ _’Can’t wait to have you in my arms again’_ ” the King recited, every word hitting Max like a punch to the gut “how romantic, wouldn’t you agree son?”

His phone.

“H-How -?”

“No matter that” Jos cut him up, slowly standing up from his chair to stand in front of his son – but not before opening one of the cabinets in his desk and letting the phone fall noisily into it before securing it shut.

Max had to use every ounce of willpower not to walk backwards as his father approached him, entirely too familiar with the look he had on his face.

“What I really want to know is for how long you thought you could get away with keeping this secret from me”

“I – I wasn’t –“

“Do not lie to me Max Emilian!” his father bellowed, and now the prince couldn’t help but flinch.

He had been careful. _Fuck_ , he had been so careful.

“I won’t even entertain a discussion about this little fling you’ve been having with that – that _driver_. I expect you to cease any contact with him at once, him and any of his inconsequential friends”

Max shut his eyes tightly, mind racing a mile a minute, breath quickening as it did whenever he was on the verge of having a panic attack.

The mere thought of a life without Daniel was enough to make him want to scream. He wouldn’t be able to stand it, not now that he had finally experienced what life could be like with him by his side.

So he took a deep breaths to try and slow his heartrate down, before opening his eyes to stare defiantly at his father.

“No, I won’t. I won’t let you keep me away from the man I love”

The sudden flash of pain wasn’t unexpected, but that didn’t make it any less painful. Max brought his hand up to rest against his abused cheek, flinching when he felt a thin stream of blood pouring down the cut his father’s ring had made as he slapped him.

“You don’t have a choice” now Max did cower away from the King as he stepped even closer, his whole body shaking as his back collided with the door.

His father just loomed over him for a few moments, seemingly enjoying the sight of the prince trying to shrink into himself.

“And to ensure you will be a good boy and comply, I will have you married to Princess Elena as soon as possible”

Max’s jaw dropped, sheer disbelief making him momentarily forget his fear “You can’t do that”

“Oh believe me, I can and I will”

“Elena would never agree to this”

“She won’t have a choice” the King snarled, before a malicious smirk contorted his face “See? You already have that in common”

“You can’t force me to do it” Max countered in desperation. There had to be a way out of this, there _had_ to be.

But he sensed all remaining hope he might have had drain away when Jos only shrugged, not looking the least bit bothered at the prince’s argument.

“Perhaps not. But keep in mind, your obedience would certainly be in Mr. Ricciardo’s best interests”

Max felt bile rising up his throat.

The King might not have threatened Daniel outright, but it was more than clear what he meant with that statement. And if there was one thing that scared Max more than being away from Dan, was something bad happening to the man because of him.

Evidently, Jos knew he had Max right where he wanted him.

“Glad we got that settled son, you may retire now. Someone will escort you back to your room”

The prince was sure he was going to have a panic attack while he was in the presence of his father, but as one of the King’s guards led him back to his room, he felt nothing but numbness.

And to think that he had been so devastatingly happy just that morning… that hotel room in Monaco felt a million galaxies away now.

It was Max’s own fault. He had allowed himself to be entirely too optimistic, to think that for once in his life, things might actually go his way.

How stupid he had been.

The next few days went by in a blur. Soon, it became clear that his father would take no risks regarding Max, and the prince was now practically confined to his bedroom. There were one or two royal guards outside of his door at all times, and if he really needed to go somewhere else they would always escort him to and from wherever that was.

He wasn’t even allowed to see Victoria, hell, he wasn’t even allowed to see his own mother. And without his phone, he felt well and truly isolated from the rest of the world.

And the prince didn’t even want to think about Daniel anymore, or Lando, or even George or Alex. He didn’t want to think about what they could be thinking at his sudden disappearance, and he thought that the sooner he tried to block the memories of them the better.

Blocking the memories of Daniel was easier said than done. Every so often his mind would betray him and conjure up a thought of his smile, of his laugh, of his curls, of his eyes. Or even worse, he would sometimes remember how it felt to be held by his calloused hands, strong but tender – always tender when it came to Max.

Thinking about how he was doing this for him was the only way he could manage to keep going.

The only person he saw apart from the guards (jailors) was Gianpiero, but if anything, the look of pure pity that always plagued the equerry’s face whenever he saw Max just made him feel worse.

Only a week had passed before his father paid him a visit to inform him that he had managed to reach an arrangement with the King of Spain to hold the ceremony a week from the day.

Apparently, they would sell to the media some elaborate story about how Max and Elena had been together in a secret relationship for just over a year, and that they had started planning the wedding in secret so that they could surprise the people from both their countries.

Max couldn’t bring himself to care anymore.

He got through every day as if in a trance, following whatever directions his father gave without any sort of restraint. The prince only ate when Gianpiero actually begged him to, and when the wedding was only four days away, he had even come to rely on his equerry to help him get dressed.

On the eve of the wedding Elena arrived at the palace, and it was only when Max was left in a room alone with the princess that he finally allowed himself to break down.

Elena held him in her arms as he cried, violent sobs wrecking through his thin body that was even thinner after two weeks of near starvation. When he managed to get his sobs under control, he finally noticed that the princess had been also been crying the entire time, and he felt like a complete asshole for having selfishly focused on himself when he wasn’t the only one suffering.

“I’m sorry Elena” Max croaked, voice raspy from how little he had used it recently.

The princess gave him a watery smile, bringing a soft hand up to his face to try and wipe the tears away.

“It’s not your fault Max, I know you had as much of a say in this as I did”

Max wondered if Elena’s father had also threatened to harm her girlfriend unless she went through with the wedding, but he didn’t want to upset her (or himself) further by bringing that up.

The two stayed holding each other for a long time, with Max resting his head on the princess’s shoulder as she ran a comforting hand through his hair.

“If this shit had to happen, at least I’m glad it’s you” Elena whispered after a while, and Max couldn’t help but smile for the first time in a long while, even if the smile was anything but happy.

“Me too”

Things could always be worse, the prince supposed. And that was going to have to be enough for him from now on.

* * *

Daniel had been in a constant state of worry for the past two weeks, and at this point he really felt two seconds away from ripping his own hair out.

After Max had texted him to say he’d gotten to Belgium alright, he hadn’t heard a word from the prince.

Dan had tried everything. He’d called, he’d texted, hell he’d even tried calling Lando - but the Duke was just as worried as he was, since he also hadn’t heard from his friend.

“I’m sure he’s alright Daniel,” Sebastian tried to appease him as he watched him pace the hotel room for the hundredth time “there’s gotta be a perfectly logical explanation for his absence”

“You don’t understand Seb,” Dan groaned “his father is a real son of a bitch. And if he somehow found out about us -“

“Don’t jump to conclusions, you’ll drive yourself mad”

Just when Daniel was about to answer that he was already way past that point, a knock to the door startled them both.

Sebastian frowned “I’m not expecting anyone”

The knock sounded again, and Daniel shrugged before walking to the door and pulling it open.

Behind it was a man whom he’d never seen before, wearing what looked to be a very expensive suit that looked very out of place in the hotel corridor.

“Good evening sir, do you happen to be Daniel Ricciardo?”

Dan frowned, but still nodded his assent.

“Um, yes. And you are?”

“My name is Gianpiero Lambiase, I am Prince Max Emilian’s equerry”

The Australian inhaled sharply.

“Oh my God where is he? Is he okay? Did his father do something to him?”

Gianpiero grimaced “The prince is physically alright, but as for the King doing anything... well, I think it’s better if you see for yourself”

The equerry handed him a magazine Daniel hadn’t noticed he was carrying, and when he looked down at the cover, he felt his heart drop.

_Surprise royal wedding: Prince Max Emilian of Belgium and Princess Elena Sofia of Spain to be married today after months of keeping their romance a secret!_

“He’s getting _married_?” Sebastian exclaimed, and Daniel hadn’t even heard the German coming to stand next to him.

Dan felt as though all the blood in his body had rushed to his ears, making them ring painfully as he felt physically nauseous.

“How?” he croaked, finally tearing his eyes off the picture of a smiling Max and Elena to look at Gianpiero.

“His father found out about what happened between you two in Monaco, and he’s had the prince locked up in the palace for the past two weeks while he orchestrated this with the King of Spain”

Sebastian scoffed in disbelief “Can he do that?”

The Italian nodded regretfully “He can, and he did. Apparently he threatened Mr. Ricciardo to get him to comply”

Daniel felt his heart break even more at that. Max was being forced to marry someone he didn’t love, he was being forced into an arranged marriage like his parents before him, and all because of him.

“But that brings me to why I’m here... I think there’s still a chance for us to stop this”

Dan instantly straightened up at his words “How?”

Gianpiero sized him up for a moment, slightly apprehensive. In the end, his determination overruled that apprehension.

“I do not know you Mr. Ricciardo, so I can’t claim to trust you”

He was about to interrupt, but his mouth fell shut as the equerry placed his hand up to stop him.

“I don’t know you, but I do know that these past few months I have seen the prince happier than I’ve ever seen him in his life. And I have every reason to believe you are the cause of that happiness. So, I am willing to put my faith in you and take you to Brussels so _you_ can stop the wedding”

Daniel was completely rendered speechless at that.

Even before that night in Monaco, he had been almost terrifyingly sure that he was in love with Max. And after that night he had finally allowed himself to hope that Max could actually love him back just as strongly as Daniel did.

So to have someone as important to Max as Gianpiero entrust him with the prince’s happiness... there was no way he could ever say no.

“Let’s do it”

Gianpiero finally allowed himself to smile at Daniel’s words.

“Excellent, I have a jet waiting for us that will take us both to Belgium”

“Yeah you’ll have to find enough room for one more, because there’s no way I‘m letting him go without me” Sebastian interjected with a tone that left no room for argument, and Daniel turned to look at his friend with wide eyes.

“You’d do that?”

The older man rolled his eyes “Of course you idiot, I would never let you go through this alone”

Daniel was so grateful he could have actually kissed Sebastian.

Gianpiero shrugged “Alright, let’s go then gentlemen, we have no time to waste”

The three men made their way towards the elevator, and as its doors opened they came face to face with none other than George, Alex, Charles and Pierre - who all gave them suspicious looks when they noticed Gianpiero standing with them.

“Where’re you guys going?”

Daniel was about to give some shit excuse so they wouldn’t try to intervene, but Sebastian beat him to it.

“We’re going to stop Max from getting married”

The younger drivers were all stunned to silence for a second, before they all started screaming over each other at the same time.

“Max is getting married -?”

“Is that why he hasn’t been talking to Lando -?”

“Dan’s not the groom -?”

“Enough” Gianpiero interrupted, his voice stern enough to shut them all up “we have no time to waste”

“If you’re really doing this then we’re going too” Charles said, crossing his arms over his chest as if daring them to challenge him.

Daniel, Sebastian and Gianpiero all shared a quick look, the two drivers only shrugging as the equerry sighed in exasperation.

“Fine, there’s more than enough room either way”

The youngsters all cheered, and even through his nerves Daniel couldn’t help but smile at the support of his friends.

“You do realise this means you’ll all miss qualifying right?” Sebastian reminded them, snorting when they all waved away his concerns.

“Anything for true love Sebby” Pierre declared, making Dan shake his head fondly before they all got back into the elevator, all of them more than ready to go crash a royal wedding.

* * *

“Holy _shit_ I can’t believe we’re doing this”

Daniel could only nod his head to signal he’d heard George, whose joyful appearance drastically contrasted with the Australian’s pale skin and shaking hands.

He, also, couldn’t believe he was doing this.

But to be fair, if you had told Dan that he would end up falling in love with the goddamn crown prince of Belgium three months ago he wouldn’t have believed it either.

“I just really hope none of us gets shot” Alex bemoaned, looking even a bit more nervous than Daniel did - which was saying a lot.

“No one’s getting shot” Sebastian reassured from the passenger seat, but his words lost all their power as he turned to Gianpiero “no one is getting shot, right?”

“... of course not”

Gianpiero hesitated for only a second, but it was enough to make Daniel feel even more faint than he already did.

“Oh who cares if one of us gets shot, if it’s in the name of love it would be worth it!” Pierre proclaimed from where he was sitting on Charles’s lap, making the Monegasque look at him adoringly while Alex gave him an incredulous look.

“Why are the French so glad to die for love?”

Pierre only grinned, not looking the least bit bothered by Lance’s cynicism “What better thing is there to die for?”

Those cheesy words seemed to strike Daniel right to his core.

Suddenly, all the nerves he had been feeling, all the indecision, all the doubts... they all seemed irrelevant.

Because Pierre might be a hopeless romantic, but he was right. What better thing _was_ there to die for?

He would rather die a thousand deaths than watch Max be forced to marry someone he didn’t love.

And it didn’t even matter if Max didn’t love Daniel back, he’d consider it enough to know that the prince wasn’t getting dragged into a marriage that would bring him nothing but unhappiness.

“Are we nearly there?” Dan asked, his nerves having transformed into unbearable restlessness.

“We’re very close”

They had been forced to take a longer route to the church in order to avoid all the crowds, but as they got closer and closer to the church more people started appearing on the streets.

It came to a point where the car could barely move without someone crossing its path, and Gianpiero hastily put it on park before turning to Daniel, not caring at all that they were in the middle of the street.

“I believe we’re going to have to run there”

Daniel gulped, but still nodded sharply “Let’s do it”

The youngsters all cheered, and now Dan really did feel like he was in one of those cheesy yet charming Hallmark movies.

“Seb, is it alright if you take care of the car and the kids?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes, ignoring the indignant protests of the younger drivers at being called kids “Of course you idiot I play nanny all the time, now go get your man”

Daniel finally allowed his lips to curl upwards at that, following Gianpiero out of the car and into the streets of Brussels.

Surprisingly no one paid much attention to them as they pushed through the crowds of people, not even their fancy clothes could make them tear their eyes off the multiple screens that had been set up to broadcast the royal wedding.

Dan tried really hard not to look at them, but his eyes accidentally travelled until they came to land on one of the giant screens just as the cameraman focused on Max, and his heart leapt to his throat.

If Dan had thought Max looked just how royalty should when he was wearing a simple black suit, he had been severely mistaken.

His blonde hair was meticulously combed backwards, not a single hair out of place, and the hairstyle seemed to accentuate those cheekbones of his that were enough to make any man weak at the knees.

He was wearing a black royal uniform, decorated with shiny golden medals and a bright blue band that perfectly brought ought his eyes.

He looked _kingly_.

“Daniel!” Gianpiero called out, making Dan blink rapidly to snap out of his daze and reluctantly tear his eyes away from the image, quickly following after the Italian before he could lose him in the crowd.

After what felt like hours, they somehow managed to reach the gates of the church, and now people finally seemed to take notice of them, murmuring amongst themselves and taking out their phones to snap pictures.

“Hello Lucas, if you’d please let us in”

The royal guard looked at them in confusion, clearly wondering why they had gotten there on foot instead of on cars, and almost an hour after the ceremony had started.

His attention then focused on Daniel, and he looked even more confused “Is he on the guest list?”

“He’s with me” Gianpiero answered, not missing a beat “now let us in”

Lucas seemed unconvinced, but thankfully Gianpiero outranked him and therefore he had no choice but to follow his orders, so the guard reluctantly opened the gate just enough to let the two men slip through.

Daniel’s heart was once again racing at a thousand miles an hour, and his hands even started shaking as they speed walked towards the main entrance.

As they jogged up the seemingly endless flight of stairs Dan just prayed to any God that was out there that they weren’t too late, that he hadn’t lost Max forever.

When they got to the top Dan had to stop for a second, forcing himself to not succumb to the overwhelming emotions that were surging inside of him.

Gianpiero placed a strong hand on his shoulder, forcing the terrified Australian to lock eyes with him. The older man’s eyes were hard as stone as he looked at Daniel, trying to transmit confidence to him.

“You can do this Daniel”

Daniel nodded, straightening his back as he turned to face the inside the church. He let out a shaky breath, and finally took the first steps forwards.

Every single person in attendance had their eyes fixed on Max and Elena, so no one really noticed the determined Australian walking - nearly running, really - towards the altar.

“Before we conclude the ceremony it is my duty to ask if anyone in attendance has any legitimate reason to object to the union of these two souls, and if they do, they should speak now or forever hold their peace”

“I object!”

Gasps instantly filled the church at Dan’s exclamation, and he could physically feel every single camera and every single pair of eyes there turning to focus on him.

Elena turned to look him first, and Daniel would have felt worse about ruining her wedding if Max didn’t turn around a second after her and nearly managed to knock all the air out of his lungs.

Max’s jaw actually dropped when he saw Daniel standing there, in the middle of the aisle, chest heaving up and down, with his disheveled curly hair falling over his forehead.

“I object” Dan repeated in a much calmer voice, his brown eyes never leaving Max’s blue ones.

The King abruptly stood up from his seat at the front of the church, leveling Daniel with a furious glare.

“You leave this church immediately _driver_ ”

Dan had never thought he would have the guts to stand up to an actual King, but seeing Max had filled him with more bravery than he needed and thus he barely spared Jos a glance.

“This is between me and your son, I’ll leave if he asks me to”

Lando and Victoria were grinning like madmen on the row next to the King’s, and even Queen Sophie looked impressed at his nerve.

“Daniel... what are you doing?” Max croaked out, his normally stoic expression cracking, letting the vulnerability shine through on his face.

“I love you Max Emilian Verstappen,” more gasps resounded through the attendants, and if anything, they just made Daniel feel bolder “and because of that I can’t let you marry someone you don’t love”

Max looked as though someone punched him after hearing those words, and he genuinely felt like he was going to have a heart attack at the surge of emotion that seemed to swell in his chest.

The Belgian turned to look at Elena with desperate eyes, trying to think of something to say to her but not being able to find the words.

But the princess just smiled softly at him, placing a gentle hand on top of his arm “Max... it’s okay”

Max let out a shaky breath “I - I just - I’m so sorry...”

“Hey, it’s okay. I understand, you don’t have to explain anything, or worry about me” she squeezed his arm reassuringly, her smile growing bigger “You deserve to be happy”

The prince took both her hands in his, and lifted them to press a kiss against her knuckles “So do you Elena, and I really am sorry it couldn’t be me who gave you that happiness”

“Likewise, _cariño_ , now go”

Max squeezed her hands one last time before turning back to face Daniel, his heart leaping to his throat in a mixture of nerves and excitement.

His legs started carrying him towards Dan in autopilot, and he suddenly understood what people meant when they said they got tunnel vision because he was certain he couldn’t see anything else but the man standing in front of him, not even if he tried.

Jos forcefully turned his son around by the shoulder as he passed next to him, desperately trying to intimidate him enough so that he would go through with the wedding.

“Stop this nonsense Max Emilian” he snarled, but Max simply shook himself out of his grip.

“ _Enough_. You don’t get to control my life anymore, not unless you want me to abdicate”

Jos was actually stunned speechless by that, and Max took the chance to step away from his father and towards Daniel.

When Max was finally, _finally_ , getting closer to Daniel, the Australian suddenly found himself frozen on the spot. He had been thinking about this precise moment all day, and now that it had come, he didn’t know what to do.

But he shouldn’t have worried, because as soon as Max reached him, he simply grabbed him by the lapels of his suit and pulled him into a searing kiss.

* * *

A few months later Daniel and Max found themselves in exactly the same position they had been during that fateful morning in Monaco, except that now they knew that they had all the time in the world to be together.

After the absolute drama of the royal wedding that never was, Max had finally decided to move out of the palace and into one of the many houses the royal family owned.

He still had to stay in Brussels, but at least he wasn’t under the stress that came with being in constant surveillance from his father anymore.

Victoria spent more time at Max’s new home than she did at the palace, and with the house being as big as it was they didn’t even have to worry about having their own space.

This also meant that now Daniel could visit him as often as possible - and since winter break had just started, he had all but moved in with the Verstappen siblings.

Dan and Victoria had hit if off spectacularly, not that Max expected any different, since they both loved teasing him at any chance they got.

Queen Sophie had also instantly taken a liking to Daniel, so much so that the two sometimes grabbed lunch together without Max.

The prince pretended it drove him nuts, but he was actually so fucking happy that his family seemed to love his boyfriend as much as he did.

(Except the King, of course, but Max barely considered him family at this point).

And that was another thing that had Max feeling over the moon.

His boyfriend. He actually got to call Daniel _his_ _boyfriend_.

Obviously, to say that shit had hit the fan after Daniel barged into that church was putting it lightly.

The whole thing had been broadcasted to the entire world, and it hadn’t taken long at all for every single media outlet to report on the fact that 1. the royal wedding hadn’t actually happened, 2. the prince of Belgium was a raging homosexual, and 3. he was practicing said raging homosexuality with Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.

Both the world of politics and the world of sports had been sent into a frenzy, and it seemed like Max and Daniel was the only thing people could talk about for a few days.

It was immensely helpful that nearly all other Formula 1 drivers had wasted no time before coming out with their support for Daniel - George and Alex taking the lead before being followed by Sebastian, Pierre, Charles, Lance, Lewis, Valtteri, Checo, Romain and Nicolas.

Even Red Bull had released a statement that said they firmly stood behind Daniel, and Christian said in an interview that their driver’s love life would never change how much the team supported him.

As for Max, many royals were also quick to jump to his defense.

Lando had obviously been the first one to speak up, but Max had been pleasantly surprised when Prince Harry also publicly stated his support along with most of Lando’s cousins, Princess Elena herself, and the entirety of the Monegasque royal family amongst others.

(Daniel hadn’t precisely liked the fact that Prince Matthias posted a picture with Max to show his support, and Max would never admit it but seeing the Australian jealous did _things_ to him).

Of course, they also had to deal with more than the fair share of negativity thrown their way. People could be vicious, and there would always be prejudiced assholes who seemed to thrive from being unnecessarily mean to others.

But it was very hard to focus on that negativity when Daniel and Max had such incredible support systems in their lives, and even more so because they finally had each other.

“What are you thinking about?” Daniel asked, resting his head on one of his hands as the other traced slow circles on top of Max’s chest.

The prince hummed contently, a blissful smile on his face that he felt hadn’t left him for months.

“Not much, just how lucky I am to have found you”

“You are so cheesy Maxy” Daniel said, but the way his eyes lit up was enough to show that he absolutely loved whenever his boyfriend said things like that.

They had come such a long way from where they’d started at Silverstone, when Max could hardly talk to Daniel without blushing and always seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

And Dan had fallen in love with the man he’d met that day, but he was so incredibly proud of how much Max had grown into himself during the last year.

Because sure, Max had always carried himself as a prince ought to, since it was something he had been taught during his entire life.

But now he didn’t only do it because it’s what’s expected of him, no, now Max walked with his back straight and his head held high (like a _King_ ) because he actually felt worthy of doing so.

Lando had told Daniel as much on a weekend trip to Greece they had taken with the Duke and his two boyfriends.

The Australian had opted not to drink much one night, and since Lando didn’t drink either (especially not after Monaco) the two were sitting together on the terrace watching their idiot boyfriends got drunk.

“I’m really happy Max has someone like you Dan” Lando commented, voice so uncharacteristically sincere that Daniel actually blushed.

“Thanks mate, but I think I’m the one who got lucky.

The Briton shrugged “Won’t argue with you on that, Max is incredible. But what I mean is that you’ve really helped him come out of his shell”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve known Max for years now, and although he’s always been strong, I can’t deny he always seemed to carry so much sadness inside of him. That’s in part why I always tried to make him laugh, and why I tried to make him get out of his own mind at least for a little while”

Lando trailed off, allowing the words to properly sink in on Daniel.

“But then you came along, and from the first moment he laid eyes on you it’s like he was another person entirely. Suddenly he was smiling, and laughing, and flirting, and you have no idea how fucking happy it made me to see him like that... and it was all thanks to you”

Daniel actually felt choked up after that. It was still so surreal to him that someone like Max could have even taken notice of him, and to hear from his best friend that he’d brought out the best in the prince... it was a lot.

“Wow, thanks man, it means the world for you to say that”

“Yeah well,” Lando shrugged, that cheeky smirk Dan had come to know so well back in his face “all of that was to say that if you ever even think about hurting him, I’ll send the entire British Air Force after you”

Daniel snorted, and if Lando noticed him discreetly drying up the tears in his eyes, the Australian was grateful that he chose to ignore it.

And the thing was, Max had also flipped Daniel’s life upside down.

Dan had been a hopeless romantic ever since he was very young, probably because he grew up with parents who loved each other as much as any fairytale couple had.

But even with his romantic heart, Daniel had found it very hard to find a partner that made him feel all those things he heard about in songs.

Not to say he didn’t care for his previous partners, but there was always something missing.

It had come to a point where he’d started to think maybe not anyone got to experience a love like Grace and Joseph Ricciardo did.

But then Max had come along, and he was kind, and funny, and smart, and there was something inside of Daniel that seemed to gravitate towards the younger man and say _yes, here, this is where you’re supposed to be_.

Daniel finally understood what people meant when they talked about soulmates. It wasn’t about Max completing him or anything like that, it was more like he complemented him in every single way that mattered.

And that was something he never wanted to let go of.

With that thought in mind, Daniel extended his arm towards the bedside table, retrieving a very small object he had been carrying around in his wallet for the better part of the past week.

“Maxy?” he asked tentatively, nudging his boyfriend’s leg lightly with his foot to get him to open his eyes, the blue in them still hazy with sleep as he turned to look at him.

“What is it Dan?” 

“You know how I went to have breakfast with your mom last Sunday?”

Max snorted “How could I forget? She talked my ear off for an hour about how great you are”

Daniel tried to laugh, but it came out a little forced because of the nerves he was feeling all of a sudden.

“Yes, well, I don’t know how she knew I had been thinking about it for almost a month now, but I’m not surprised because mothers always seem to know these things somehow -“

“Thinking about what?” Max interrupted with a slight frown, knowing that when Dan started rambling he could go on for ages.

“Right, yes” Dan cleared his throat “what I’m trying to say is that she gave me this”

When Max noticed what Daniel was holding, he instantly sat up, eyes widening.

“Apparently it belonged to her mother, and she was thinking about saving it for Victoria, but your sister assured her it was fine for me to have it”

And that thing that Daniel was holding between his fingers was nothing other than a beautiful diamond ring.

The band was made out of while gold, and it had a single square-shaped diamond shining proudly on top of it.

“I know your experience with weddings is not exactly the best one, but I would love for you to try again…” Dan kept talking quickly, knowing that if he didn’t get it all out he’d certainly get choked up “with me, if you’d let me”

“Dan...” Max breathed out, blinking rapidly to get the tears out off his eyes.

“So, Max Emilian Verstappen, would you do me the incredible honor of being my husband?”

Instead of answering Max actually pounced on Daniel, knocking him flat on his back so he could straddle his waist and kiss the living daylights out of him.

Daniel laughed into the kiss, bringing his hands up to steady Max by the waist before he could send them both toppling off the bed.

“I take that as a yes?” the Aussie teased, eyes shining with mirth as Max just kept pressing kisses all over his face.

“Of course that’s a yes you idiot”

“Well you just agreed to marry me, so who’s the real idiot?”

Max rolled his eyes, but even if he’d wanted to pretend to be exasperated at his boyf- _fiancé’s_ bad jokes, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to wipe the radiant smile off his face.

“Fuck, I can’t wait to call you my husband” Max said, leaning into Daniel’s hand as he brought it up to cradle his face.

“Daniel Verstappen” Dan tried out, chuckling at how Max seemed to light up after hearing those words “it does have a very nice ring to it”

“You’d really take my last name?”

“Of course I would! Besides, I don’t think the people of Belgium would be very happy if their future queen didn’t have their future king’s last name”

Max snorted, but his eyes filled with tears again at Daniel’s readiness to proclaim himself as his.

“You’ll be the most beautiful queen the country’s ever seen”

“Damn right baby” Dan winked, fisting his hand in Max’s hair to pull him down for another kiss.

The prince knew that many people would probably argue that they were moving too fast. They’d argue that they were too young to make these kinds of decisions, or that they would come to regret it in a couple of years.

And if anyone had said that to Max a few months ago, he would probably be inclined to agree.

_And yet._

And yet, as he laid in Daniel’s arms, he realized that nothing had ever felt more right in his entire life.

Sure, there were still a lot of things they’d have to figure out, a lot of obstacles they’d have to fight through and a lot of difficult decisions they’d have to make.

But for once in his life, Max wasn’t worried. Because he knew that with Daniel by his side, he’d be able to deal with anything life decided to throw his way.

**Author's Note:**

> And that was that. You guys know I always cry from happiness whenever I get kudos and especially comments, but this time it would mean even more to me if you tell me what you thought about it because it's the first time I write something this long.
> 
> Also, if you want to tell me something about this fic or any of my other ones don't hesitate to leave me a message in my tumblr ask box at @mexstappen, or alternatively in my main blog @mexisco.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this, I really really do hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Cheers and until next time x


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